Protector
by Flames101
Summary: Rossi's story on his evolution of his feelings for a fellow colleague and friend and how he struggles to get over them. Rossi/Emily friendship/one-sided romance. (Story #3 in the For You, Always Universe-Need not have read FYA or Conflicted to read this one). Chapter 23 is new! 2013 Profiler Choice Award Winner for Best Rossi/Emily Story.
1. Protector

**A/N: **Ok, so here's the companion piece to For You, Always and Conflicted that I promised I'd write a long time ago. This one centers on Rossi's point of view. Again, this takes place during the same timeline of each of the previous stories but we get a glimpse into Rossi's head this time around. So, like before, some scenes will overlap.

The first chapter takes place right after the episode Demonology (Season 4, episode 17), like the next day after. So there are spoilers to that episode. Also, this first chapter takes place about a month before the first chapter of Conflicted and 2 months before the first chapter of For You, Always.

You do not need to have read the other two stories to understand this one.

So, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds

**Chapter 1: Protector:**

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* * *

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SSA David Rossi tiredly walked through the front door of his home. He threw off his coat, tossing it onto the coat hanger by the door. He strolled into his living room where he kept a well stocked bar.

After the day he just had, or more precisely, the last three days, a drink would do him good. He pulled out a glass decanter that held his strongest scotch and poured himself half a tumblers worth. Taking a sip, the rich liquid burned straight down his throat. Just the way he liked it. Cradling the glass and bottle in each hand he made his way to the leather sofa and took a seat.

He really needed that drink, but he knew there was one other person other than him that needed the drink more. And he wished with all his heart that fellow agent and friend SSA Emily Prentiss was all right on her walk through the snowy streets of Washington D.C.

The case, that wasn't a case, as Hotch liked to put it, had taken its toll on the entire team. The Priest's actions questioned so many things in each of their lives. Rossi knew that not a single member of the team had come out of this ordeal unscathed. But most of all, this case had affected Emily, for obvious reasons. And he hoped that she could reconcile what had happened in the past and present and move on. She would be changed, yes, but he knew that knowing the man would be dealt with helped for closure on what happened to Matthew Benton.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair. God, he hated seeing her so sad. It wasn't right. Ever since he'd met her a year ago he had become accustomed to her trademark, one hundred watt smile. And all he'd seen from her the past 72 hours was that same dejected look, like she'd lost her best friend. And he guessed from what she'd told him, she had.

He was glad she'd opened up to him. Rossi worried about her, and the words his friend, Jimmy, had uttered to him before he'd left the church the other day, "Take care of her…" came right back to him.

He thought back to the almost broken look on her face before she had left his side tonight and he suddenly realized he was going to do just that.

* * *

"Are you sure you're ok?" Garcia fretted.

Emily made a motion with her hands like she was brushing off dust, but her tone belied her true feelings. "I… I just need to move on…"

"Gotcha," Garcia said tactfully. "I'm here for you, hun!"

Emily just nodded. Garcia gave her one last pat before leaving the break room. Emily sat there for a minute more alone, before another team member joined her.

"Emily," she heard Morgan's tentative voice.

She turned around in her seat to see the concerned look on his face. "I'm fine," she said adamantly.

Morgan gave her an unbelieving look; he walked over to her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. Then he took the seat across from her.

From the look on his face, she knew he was about to say some unnecessary things. "Derek, you don't need to—"

"—Apologize?" he cut her off. "Yes I do. I should have believed you right away. You were right."

"Derek, you wouldn't be the star profiler you are if you didn't question, didn't analyze," Emily allowed.

"Still," Derek said unconvinced.

She was surprised when he reached out and covered her hand with his own. His thumb brushed the palm of her hand and she had to use every ounce of strength she had to not jump at the sudden pleasant contact.

She gave him a small, hesitant smile. "You were there for me in the end, that's what matters to me," she paused. "Again, thank you."

He smiled back. "Like I said before, always."

* * *

Rossi walked through the glass doors to the BAU offices, holding a tray of coffee in one hand. After a good nights sleep he felt refreshed, he felt brand new, like he had a new out look on his life. And that new outlook included looking after and protecting Emily Prentiss.

He knew she would argue with him and deny she needed protecting but she was vulnerable at the moment. And he was going to make sure that no one took advantage of her. He would look after her through their friendship and maybe… who knew… maybe something more.

Rossi didn't see her at her desk; he made his way toward the break room, assuming she had already sought out some coffee. He found her in there, all right, but the situation he found her in had his protective instincts screaming.

Emily was sitting at the table, Morgan across from her, his hand covering hers. He caught the tail-end of their conversation, a mimic of what was said between them last night. And now they sat their staring at each other, pretty intensely if you asked him. And Rossi found he didn't much like that.

For some reason, looking at Morgan sitting there, making eyes at Emily, reminded him of something. And that something, or rather someone was himself some twenty odd years ago.

He had been a player back then, no other way of putting it, and he saw a lot of that part of himself in SSA Derek Morgan. What the younger agent did in his own time was his business, but he wouldn't allow him to hurt Emily.

He cleared his throat, getting their attention. The pair jumped apart abruptly.

"Dave," Emily greeted, giving him a warm smile.

He smiled back.

"Hey man," Derek said cheerfully. He stood up. "Is that coffee?"

Rossi held the tray out to him. "Yep."

Derek eagerly grabbed a cup. "Thanks Rossi. I'll see you later, Emily."

She nodded.

Rossi watched the younger man leave the room before taking Morgan's vacated seat. He put the tray in front of her, reaching for a cup of his own. He pulled back on the tab, taking a sip. The entire time, he kept his eyes low.

"Not you too…" Emily protested.

Rossi looked up at her exasperated expression; he gave her a small, sad smile. "Hey, I didn't say anything."

She shook her head. "We saved John…" she went on. "In the end, that's what really matters."

"Hey," he said calmly.

He reached out a hand to cover hers; realizing it was the exact same thing Derek had done, he gave it a pat and pulled back. He had to remind himself that he'd grown out of his womanizing ways. This was Emily Prentiss, after all, his friend, a person he'd grown to care for quite a bit. She deserved someone who took his time with her. His old ways were not an option. And… he was getting off topic.

"Emily," he tried again. "Hey, this is me, the person you told about what Matthew really meant to you. And I can guess who John really is to you. I—"

"Dave, please," she pleaded.

He held up a hand to her urging her to stay calm. "All I'm trying to say is I understand how you feel… and if you want to talk about it. I'm here for you. Remember, I'm all in."

She smiled at him. "Ok."

"Ok?" he said surprised. "Ok, as in you want to talk about it?"

She nodded, letting out a sigh. "It's been awhile since I've told anyone about this. It weighs on you, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," he assured her. "Drink, after work?"

"Sure."

* * *

Well that's it for now. I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!


	2. A Night Out

**A/N:** Hi again. Sorry for the wait! Here's the next chapter of Protector. This one coincides with the first chapter of Conflicted. From here on out, the timelines should match. Please R&R! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 2: A Night Out:**

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Rossi knocked on Emily's door and stood waiting patiently for her to answer. They were going out tonight.

Ok… so it wasn't going to be just the two of them, the whole gang would be there. Garcia would be bringing Kevin, JJ would bring Will, and with any luck Morgan would bring along some girl as well, leaving Emily to his capable hands.

Protecting Emily had been tough lately. It was like at every turn there was Derek Morgan to thwart his moves. He must be getting old because the man was giving him a run for his money.

It wasn't like Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss were a couple yet—he checked with Penelope—but the man was moving in. But it wasn't like he was sitting back and letting it happen. For the past month, he and Emily had had twice weekly chats over lunch or dinner. She'd told him a lot, more, he was sure, than she'd told anyone else, which he never took for granted.

The door was opening a second later to reveal Emily dressed to the nines. She was dressed in a little black dress, strapless, with black heels.

"Hey Dave," Emily greeted, shooting him her trademark smile. "Come on in, I need to find my jacket."

"Uh sure," he said, gulping as he watched her walk away quickly. He stepped inside her apartment, shutting the door behind him.

"This should be nice," Emily called from somewhere inside the apartment.

He stepped into the kitchen and took a seat at one of the barstools. "Yeah, it'll be a break, that's for sure."

Emily stepped back into view throwing her jacket around her shoulders. "Yeah, is it just me or do the cases keep getting worse and worse?"

"They're always horrible," he agreed. "But lately…"

Lately it seemed like the un-subs they dealt with were getting a little more twisted.

"I'll just be happy to have a couple of drinks, talk to the guys and come home to a good nights sleep," Emily let him know.

Rossi gave her a wry smile. "Do you know where we're going Em?"

She shook her head.

"That new club, uh… Kicking or something," Rossi informed.

Emily gave a mock groan. "It's Morgan's turn isn't it?"

Every time the team went out together the members alternated on choosing the venue for the night. Everyone had their favourites. JJ liked your small type bar, Hotch liked to hit places with bands that covered the Beatles, Reid was a fan of jazz music, Garcia liked the artsy venues where amateur poets stood to tremble and tell their fare, and Rossi chose the comedy clubs. Morgan chose night clubs almost religiously.

"Yeah it was Morgan."

"Probably wants to get his groove thang on," Emily said and laughed at her own joke.

Rossi smiled politely, wondering if Emily and Morgan were close enough to have inside jokes. That did not sit well.

"Thanks for giving me a ride."

"No problem," he told her. "I'm just doing my part to save the world."

Emily walked up to him and gave his back a pat. "Good old Captain Planet."

Rossi chuckled. "That's me."

* * *

So the night wasn't really going as expected. Rossi was sitting at the table with the other two out of four bachelors of their team. Reid was on his left, Hotch on his right and all three of them seemed to be very introverted that night.

"What are we doing here guys?" Rossi wanted to know.

"Having a drink," Hotch answered practically.

"Watching the rituals of man as they attempt to secure a mate?" Reid answered seriously.

Rossi turned to look at the young doctor to see if he was serious or joking, he was serious, of course.

"Why aren't we out there on the dance floor, like them?" Rossi questioned.

He really wanted to know; why weren't they grooving to the music like their fellow BAU agents? There was JJ dancing with Will, Garcia was out there pulling Kevin along. Morgan was surrounded as usual, and even Emily was getting down with some Latin hunk.

He wasn't that old he could still shake it, couldn't he? He looked at his two companions; both, if possible, were wearing the same incredulous looks on their faces.

"Remember when Garcia tried to take you for a twirl?" Hotch reminded.

"You practically kicked and screamed all the way onto the floor," Reid chimed in.

"I did not," Rossi denied; he had no idea what they were talking about.

"Did I hear my name?"

Garcia suddenly appeared at Reid's side, hopping onto a vacant stool.

"We were just reminding Dave here why he isn't on the dance floor," Hotch betrayed.

Garcia burst out laughing. "Oh yeah, I thought it'd be fun to give our Ross-man a turn on the floor, as I remember you did not particularly warm up to the idea."

"I just didn't feel good," Rossi protested.

"He tried to run away and he tripped over that chair and fell into that man's lap, remember?" Reid said helpfully.

The whole table burst into a fit of laughter.

Rossi tried not to smirk. It had been pretty funny. As he remembered the man had not minded and had attempted to ask him out.

"I don't have to take this," Rossi said, mock hurt. He made to leave the table when Garcia's gasp officially changed the subject.

"Look at that!" Garcia exclaimed. "Our girl Emily's dancing with Derek."

Rossi's eyes jumped back to the dance floor. Yep, there was Derek grinding up against Emily.

"That's hot!" Garcia breathed out.

Rossi turned to give her a strange look but her eyes were riveted to the scene ahead of him. Hot, was not what he'd call it. Indecent, yes. Inappropriate, yes. But not hot. What was Emily thinking dancing with a co-worker like that in front of her boss?

The table was buzzing with how great the couple looked dancing together, while Rossi continued to sit there, fuming, as he watched the sight. When he saw Derek lean into Emily and whisper into her ear he knew this was the beginning of trouble. What kind of trouble, he didn't know, but he would find out a second later.

"Shh…" Garcia whispered loudly to the table. "Em's coming this way."

Everyone at the table went dead silent. Yeah, like that wouldn't be a dead giveaway that they'd been talking about her.

Emily finally reached the table; Rossi couldn't help noticing she looked more than flushed.

"Hey guys," Emily greeted in a shaky voice.

"Hey girl, saw you dancing with Derek, it was hot," Garcia exclaimed.

There she went with the hot comment again. Emily, sure, was attractive. Derek was just Derek, a player.

Still, Emily blushed thoroughly at the comment, causing Rossi to just frown.

"Thanks," Emily said blandly. "Guys I'm beat—"

Rossi took this as his chance to jump in. He had of course driven Emily there He started to stand up.

"All right, I can take you home."

He was taken aback by Emily's quick, almost, shout of, "No."

Rossi eyed Emily carefully, she looked twitchy, and a bit uncomfortable, so unlike herself. A quick scan of the entire table saw they'd noticed her behaviour as well.

"I mean," Emily started, regaining her composure. "Don't worry about it Dave, Derek offered to take me home. He's on his way out anyways."

Rossi shot her a quizzical look, as he wondered at what was really up. "Oh," he simply said.

She eyed them back, as they all stared at each other for a good thirty seconds. It was a bit on the awkward side, and Rossi was sure everyone was trying to profile the situation. Emily trying to figure them out, them trying to figure out what was up between her and Derek.

Finally, Emily spoke up. "You guys are having a great time," she said calmly. She took a step towards him and put a hand on his arm. "I don't want to ruin that. Thanks for the ride here, Dave, but stay and have a good time."

What more could he do or say? Yell and scream: run, run away from Derek's evil clutches? No. So he simply nodded. And then the entire table watched her make her way back to Derek, wordlessly.

Garcia was the first one to break the silence. "She is so going to hit that!"

"Garcia!" both Hotch and Reid exclaimed.

Hotch was frowning. "May I remind you Garcia that the bureau frowns upon employees fraternizing… uh romantically."

Garcia laughed as Kevin joined the table with another round of drinks. "Sir, I had absolutely no idea."

"You really think that Emily and Derek are… you know?" Reid asked innocently.

Garcia raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you see the way they were dancing?"

"You've danced with Derek before," Hotch countered.

"Again," Garcia said wryly. "Did you see the way _they_ were dancing?"

Rossi sure had and he didn't much like it. But what could he do about it, Emily was only his friend.

* * *

Dave poured himself a morning cup of too strong bureau coffee. He was alone in the break-room, but it was still early on a Monday morning. People would start filing in any minute. Namely, his team.

He wondered how they all had fared after leaving the club Friday night. Everyone, with the exception of himself and JJ had all been drinking a bit on the heavy side; both had been the designated drivers. But he wondered most of all about Emily.

She'd gone home alone with Derek, who hadn't drunk much himself due to being surrounded by girls on the dance floor. Or that's what she'd said. But when he called her apartment Saturday morning to suggest breakfast she hadn't picked up. Of course, it could have just meant she was sleeping off the night before. But, it also could have meant…

Nah, he didn't want to go there. Without certain evidence, he chose to believe that Emily and Derek were nothing but friends.

Still, he was worried…

"Morning Dave…" Hotch greeted as he bustled into the room, going instantly to the coffee.

"Morning," Rossi replied. "How was your weekend?"

"You mean how my two days with the worst hangover headache in my life was?" Hotch asked wryly.

Rossi chuckled. "Yeah."

"Let's just say all Jack wanted to do this weekend was blast Sponge Bob Square pants on all the TV sets."

"Hmm, can't say I've ever heard of it."

"Count that as a blessing," Hotch assured.

Rossi turned to sit at the table. "Still, we sure had a great time Friday."

Hotch gave him a small smile. "Yeah, it was nice to see the team unwind."

Rossi nodded. "You too. It was nice to see you let loose and dance with JJ."

Rossi knew he added a knowing inflection to his voice. So, he knew he completely deserved the raised eyebrow Hotch threw at him.

"Well it was either JJ or Garcia. And well, you'd choose JJ too if you've ever danced with Garcia. Oh wait, you have…" Hotch laughed.

"Ha ha," Rossi said wryly. "Still, you and JJ—"

"Dave," Hotch warned.

Ok, he was right. JJ had Will; it was time to back off the subject.

"I'll see you later," Rossi said; cradling his cup of coffee, he made his way to his desk at the exact moment Emily was making her way into the bullpen.

She looked nice, dressed in a red top and a knee length skirt, rare for her, but a nice change. But when he looked at her face he knew something was up. She looked worried, nervous, so unlike herself. She was so preoccupied with whatever was going on inside her head that she was about to pass right by him without a word.

"Morning Emily," he spoke up.

She jumped; she actually jumped at his voice.

Definitely seeing him for the first time, she replied, "Oh, Dave, morning."

He couldn't help it; he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her. "Hey," he said, voice full of concern. "Is everything all right?"

Nodding, she answered, "Yeah, just too much coffee, it's making me jumpy. I need to cut back on the caffeine."

Rossi forced himself to not visibly cringe at her forced smile.

"I see you made it home safely Friday night," he said, trying a different tactic.

She eyed him carefully. "Yep," she said a little too calmly. "All in one piece,"

"That's good." He felt like he was playing twenty questions as he asked his next question. "How was your weekend?"

Somehow he'd lost her. He could see it in her eyes; she was gone from here for the moment, suddenly distracted by something.

"Um… fine…"

He followed her gaze and was given the answer suddenly. Derek was making his way inside the BAU glass doors and he was making his way towards them.

Morgan looked extra dressy today, wearing a suit, making Rossi wonder if he was trying to impress anyone.

He finally reached them and put his briefcase down on his desk.

"Morning Rossi, Morning Prentiss."

There was nothing unusual about Morgan's greeting except, that is, for Emily's reaction. Her anticipatory expression from a minute before suddenly fell to one of disappointment.

"Morning," Emily mumbled.

Rossi seemed the only one of the two men who seemed to notice Emily's reaction. And a second later Morgan's attention was now on a practically glowing Garcia.

"Hey guys," she greeted them over enthusiastically.

"Good morning," Rossi replied politely.

"Morning, baby girl," was Morgan's choice of greeting.

Rossi took a moment to look at Emily. She was frowning deeply. And who wouldn't, she got Prentiss-ed, while Garcia got baby girl-ed. _Smooth, Derek._

"Hey Em, can I talk to you a second?" Garcia piped up.

"Sure," she quickly replied, seemingly eager to get away from someone. And he was sure it wasn't him.

With the two women gone Morgan eyed Rossi with a concerned look. "Is she ok?"

_Really?_ He was asking him that. He should be asking Emily, not him. "You tell me," Rossi countered as he walked away.

He headed to the water cooler and grabbed himself a cup. It wasn't too long later when Morgan joined him in the corner. The younger man let out a frustrated sigh. Rossi didn't say anything. For the first time in a month Rossi finally got a glimpse of Morgan's true feelings. He cared about Emily, he could plainly see that. But just how much, he was going to find out.

Morgan poured himself a cup of water and Rossi sipped at his own. They stood there in heavy silence.

"Rossi, man, if you've got something to say, spit it out," Morgan broke the silence.

"Just wondering…" he started slowly. "If everything's alright between you and Emily?"

Morgan eyed him, probably trying to figure out if he was being profiled. "Everything's fine, why wouldn't they be?"

"It's just, Emily seemed so jumpy and you seemed a little cold towards her," Rossi observed.

"Nope, nothings wrong," he reiterated, but not without a hint of bitterness in his voice. "We're fine, friends, that's all."

Rossi nodded his head. "That's good."

But Rossi could tell that to Derek that wasn't good at all. He could see Derek wanted more from Emily. And something, or someone, maybe Emily herself, was stopping that from happening. But he could also see a hint of determination in his eyes. He'd keep trying.

Derek started to walk away. But Rossi needed to get one point across.

"Derek," the younger man turned around. "Be careful with her, she's not as tough as she lets everyone believe."

Derek nodded then walked away.

He wasn't happy with Derek's pursuit of Emily, not by a long shot. But she was his friend first, no matter how deeply he cared for her. And he would do anything to protect her, even if it meant giving her possible suitor some good advice.

* * *

Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed.

Thanks to my two reviewers: **EmmaBerlin and p95000.** And thanks to everyone who's alerted this story!

I'll try to update soon!


	3. Stress

**A/N: **Hello all, sorry for the wait. I've been busy moving so I didn't' have a chance to update. But, I'll be focusing on this a little more from now on. So, there's some good news. I want to try to finish this in the next month.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this. Let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 3: Stress:**

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Emily gritted her teeth wondering how much more of this there could be. Erin Strauss sat—haughtily, in Emily's opinion—behind her desk with Emily held prisoner on the other side. After an hour of being grilled, the woman was just staring at her, making Emily all the more uncomfortable.

"Ma'am," Emily said, trying to contain her obvious derision. "Is there anything else?"

Strauss was apparently shaken from her thoughts, but the curious look remained there. "One question, how close are you with your team?"

Emily was surprised by the question, but tried to hide it. It wasn't any question she'd ever been asked in a quarterly review before. Sure, she'd been asked 'do you get along with your co-workers?' before. But this question was slightly different. This question was asking about her intimacy level with her friends. Emily had to wonder where exactly the question had come from.

"We're all friendly; we have the occasional social outing. Agent Jareau, Analyst Garcia and I go out for drinks every now and then. It's nothing the Bureau would frown upon."

_Lies,_ all lies, but Strauss didn't need to know that, especially since a certain someone was now avoiding her like the plague.

"Hmm…" Strauss paused. "Your full review will be given to you by the end of the week. But I will tell you now that you are doing a satisfactory job."

Satisfactory, high praise from the likes of their esteemed Section Chief.

"Thank you, ma'am," Emily said in relief, believing the review was over.

Emily began to move towards the door.

"Agent Prentiss," Strauss called, and she paused. "You will let me know if that status changes?"

"Ma'am?" she questioned, seriously confused.

"The 'friendliness' between you and your colleagues, if that changes you must let me know."

All Emily could do was nod and then she got the heck out of there.

* * *

Rossi was finishing up and packing his belongings, ready to head home and enjoy a few days off.

Review day was stressful, but being the first to go—like Reid—and the last—like Emily—were the worst ways to go. He contemplated waiting for Emily.

He'd known Erin for a long time. She was fair and decent, that is, when higher-ups weren't breathing down her neck. And when that happened, well, look out, because if she had to decide between you and her the choice was obvious.

So why was he concerned for Emily at the moment being alone with the Section Chief? Well because there were rumours going around pertaining to Emily and a certain fellow BAU agent. And if he'd heard them then he was sure as hell that Erin had heard them too. And Erin was like a dog with a bone when she wanted to get to the bottom of something.

On second thought, maybe he should wait it out for Emily. She'd need some support and as he peeked out of his office door, he could see no one else was there to provide it.

He made his way into the bull pen and leaned against her desk so he had a view of the upper level.

After a few minutes of waiting, he spotted her making her way out of Erin's office and come around to the stairs. She was wringing her hands, very uncharacteristic of her, and looking down. Her face was pale and at the same time she looked like she was about to be sick.

He hated seeing her like this. It was so wrong for her to look so completely dejected. And at the moment all he wanted to do was put a smile on her face. His protector instincts kicked in and he started to make his way towards her, not exactly sure what he was going to do when he reached her side.

What Rossi didn't count on was Emily continuing on in her own world and not stopping when he was within arms distance. She kept walking, bumping right into him.

"Oof," Emily groaned at impact, she stumbled back a bit and Dave reached out both arms to take hold of her shoulders to steady her.

"Emily," he said; voice full of concern, but feeling like an idiot at the same time.

It had been obvious she'd been zoned out so why hadn't he given her any warning?

"You all right?" he asked, giving her a curious once over.

She looked at him, a pained expression on her face, and nodded her head. "Yeah, sorry, just spaced out for a minute there."

He nodded, accepting her answer, but she was staring around her completely distracted, and the forlorn expression was still there.

"Strauss didn't fire you, did she?"

Eyes wide, he was surprised when Emily's lower lip began to tremble. "What? No, no, why would you— No—"

_Really, Dave, joking at a time like this?_ Problem was he didn't know what _this_ was.

He gave her a bit of a shake. "Relax Emily, I was joking."

"Oh," she said in acceptance.

_What the hell was going on?_

"Drinks, now," he said firmly.

He put his arm around her shoulders and began to guide her away.

* * *

"So," Rossi asked, gesturing to the drinks they had in front of them. "We've got out drinks, why don't you tell me about your day?"

"My day?" Emily snorted in disbelief. "How about my month?"

He was slightly alarmed by her derisive tone, and he realized it had been too long since he and Emily had a good talk. _What kind of friend was he?_

"Sure, we can talk about that too," Rossi answered, trying to come off as nonchalant.

She took a sip of her drink, seemingly buying herself some time, if the panicked look on her face was anything to go by.

"Emily," he attempted a soothing tone, but really that wasn't his style, so he quickly gave that up for a blunt, "Out with it."

She blew out a frustrated breath. "Fine," she huffed. "Lately, I've been walking around dazed and confused. And it sucks!"

"Confused? Why?" Rossi had a pretty good idea why she was in that haze and he could strangle the cause of it.

Emily hesitated. "Just life… it's not really going according to plan."

Rossi nodded. "That's usually how life goes… you think I planned on getting married and divorced three times?"

He got the reaction he wanted, she smiled, easing some lines of tension from her forehead.

"No, I guess not," she said amused. "But I sure as hell didn't plan—"

She cut herself off giving him a startled look.

"Didn't plan…" he prompted.

"Never mind," she brushed it off. "Suffice it to say, things feel like they're spinning out of control and I don't know what to do…"

She looked so dejected, he so wanted to tell her what to do just to alleviate her stress, but that wouldn't be right. She needed to get to the bottom of this on her own.

Still, comforting her wouldn't be interfering. He reached out a hand to cover hers. It was warm and tingly under his large hand and he never wanted to pull away.

He tried for the soothing voice this time. "Emily," he paused until she was meeting his gaze. "You need to get that control back."

"How?" her voice was too small for his liking.

"You need to confront whatever…" _or whoever,_ he added to himself. "…is making you feel this way. Only then will you get back on top."

"Easier said than done," she replied a little more strongly.

"Yeah," Rossi agreed. "But doable."

She nodded, going silent. He watched her wondering what was going through her mind. He knew what at least one source of her stress was: Derek Morgan.

It didn't take Dr. Spencer Reid to figure out what had happened between Emily and Derek that night, one month ago, when she had left the club with him. It also didn't take a profiler to know that after that weekend Emily just seemed off. Two and two made four; obviously something not so pleasant happened between the pair. And if he had to put his money on it, he'd say somebody rejected somebody else. Who it was that had done the rejecting he wasn't quite sure.

"You know," Emily suddenly spoke up. "You're right."

"I am?" he said in surprise.

He knew he was but he hadn't expected her to agree with him so quickly.

She took another sip of her drink. "Yeah, whining isn't going to do me any good… if I've got problems it's my own fault…"

_Not quite where he was heading, but it was a start._

"I've got to either accept things or fix it," she continued. "Plain and simple."

_Better._

"So, which one have you decided on?" he asked, curious.

"No clue," she said, smiling, at least.

She downed the last of her drink, put down the empty glass and stood up.

She let out a sigh. "Thanks Dave for the drink, but I think it's time to go home."

Rossi gave her a once over. Her color was back, she had a small smile on her face and she was standing straighter then she had been all month. His job, for now, was done.

"It was no problem, I could tell you could use one," he told her, not sugar-coating anything. "I can drive you home, if you'd like."

She shook her keys at him. "Drove here, remember…"

Yeah, he remembered, she was adamant about driving to the bar so that she could leave when she needed.

Smiling, she gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Thanks for sitting here, listening to me rant. I know I shouldn't complain…"

He put a hand of his own on top of hers and gave it a pat. "What are friends for?"

She said her good byes and he watched her leave. He continued to sit there, contemplating all the cryptic-ness that had passed between them. He was glad that he'd given her the advice she needed to get back to the original Emily, because wallowing in self-pity really wasn't his friend's style.

So, he knew she'd take care of business. But he couldn't help thinking that maybe he should talk to Derek; maybe knock some sense back into his brain. Because hurting someone like Emily Prentiss is a crime and it shouldn't go unpunished.

No, he was going to speak with Derek Morgan.

Resolved to what he was going to do, he downed the last of his drink, threw a couple of bills onto the bar and headed out determinedly.

* * *

Rossi was driving his car on his way to Morgan's apartment. He wanted to talk face to face. Hadn't he told the younger man to be careful with her? That she wasn't as strong as everyone thought? Why hadn't he heeded his words? Now it was time for a thorough chat.

The cell phone he'd thrown onto the passenger seat suddenly rang. It was a red light so he reached for it, seeing it was Hotch.

He answered it, "Hey Hotch, is there a case?"

"I wish," Hotch replied.

_Was it his imagination or did the man sound devastated?_

"What's up?" Rossi asked quickly, alarm in his voice.

Hotch let out a sad sigh. Now he definitely was worried, the man usually showed one of two emotions, stoic and stoic. "I'm here at JJ's—"

He couldn't help himself, he cut him off. "Is she all right? Did something happen?"

JJ was his friend, good friend. He could recount many a night spent in her company and Will's too.

"Yeah, something happened," Hotch answered and Rossi held his breath until he knew exactly what. "JJ and Henry are all right. It's Will… he was murdered."

Rossi let out a gasp and waited for the rest of the details. Turned out Will had been involved in a high speed car chase with a suspected murderer. Shots were exchanged and Will had been killed.

"What can I do?" Rossi instantly offered.

"I'm here now; JJ's… well, you can guess how she is. She's going to need all the help we can give her. Just be here tomorrow morning."

"All right," Rossi agreed.

"I'm going to call the others, I'll talk to you tomorrow," Hotch finished abruptly.

Rossi hung up the phone and continued to drive on. He couldn't believe it. But he guessed tragedy never happened when you expected it. Still, they had all hung out together one month ago, there were even talks of another get together and Will had been lobbying for the right to choose the venue. Now, well, now he was gone.

Rossi found a spot to park in a quiet neighbourhood. He wanted to make a phone call and didn't really want to drive at the same time.

Quickly, he dialled Emily's number. After all she'd been through this past month, this day in particular, he knew that Will's death would hit particularly hard.

He was slightly surprised when he got a busy signal. But he chalked it up to Hotch calling her next.

He had wanted to hear her voice to make sure she was all right but he decided to leave it to at least when he got home. And paying a visit to Derek just wouldn't be right at the moment either. So, he turned on his car and started home.

* * *

Emily looked in the mirror that morning to check if everything was where it was supposed to be. And then she chided herself at even caring. Her friend's fiancée had just died, who cared if her mascara was smudged or not.

She let out a sad sigh as she slipped some small, silver hoop earrings into her ears; she couldn't believe he was gone. It was horrible.

The phone ringing startled her and for a second she wondered if Derek was phoning, having changed his mind on driving her to JJ's. She sure hadn't expected his call after Hotch's, but she accepted his out-of-no-where offer of a ride, hoping it was a step towards normalcy.

But when she answered the phone and said, "Hello," the person replying was a slight surprise.

"Emily, hi," Rossi greeted her.

She smiled, knowing exactly why he was calling. He was such a good friend. "Did you hear?" she asked demurely.

"Yeah," Rossi answered a lilt of sadness in his voice. "It's horrible. I'm headed over there now. I was checking to see if you wanted some company?"

"Oh," she said in surprise, she could feel her face heat up in embarrassment. "Derek's actually coming to pick me up…"

"Really?" Rossi said in disbelief.

"Yes, really. Why?" She frowned; why was it a surprise?

"Nothing, it's just for the past month—" he cut himself off, and Emily's frown deepened. "Nothing, never mind, ok?"

"Ok…" she said slowly.

"I'll see you there," he said quickly and then before she could respond he'd hung up.

Emily stood there staring at her phone, wondering what was up with the men in her life.

* * *

Well that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!

Thanks to everyone who's keeping up with this story and reviewing: **canny-bairn; miaa29; p95000; Lurker760; and kdzl. **


	4. Confusion

**A/N:** Hi again! Sorry I took forever to update. I'm finished my other Criminal Minds fics and I've made a vow to myself to get going on this one before I really start any others. Probably won't last though. :)

Anyways, this chapter coincides with Chapter 2 of both Conflicted and For You, Always. It also introduces a character that was introduced briefly in both those stories. She is an OC but she won't have a huge role.

Hope you enjoy! Please R&R! Thanks!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 4: Confusion:**

**

* * *

**

Rossi stared at the faces of his friends around him. Every one of them was in the midst of some stage of grief. None of them could believe it still, even after the week had gone by. Will LaMontangne Jr. was really gone. Rossi and the team had put the funeral together to spare JJ. Because of that the week had gone on long and sleepless.

With the coffin lowered into the ground there was a sudden rush for the parking lot. A wake for Will would be held at JJ's house in about two hours and he guessed everyone was rushing off to either buy or bake JJ some sort of food item. But the team took their time leaving the gravesite.

Rossi looked to the grieving woman. JJ was in good hands, Hotch right by her side. In fact, he wasn't sure that their Unit Chief had even left her for a moment since he'd heard the news. Rossi continued to observe as Hotch took her hand and led her towards the parking lot.

Morgan followed closely behind, his arm around Penelope's shoulders, Emily walking close at their heels. Rossi hung back with Reid. The kid seemed to be taking Will's death hard. It didn't surprise him; as Henry's Godfather, Reid probably spent a lot of time with the family.

"You ok, Reid?" Rossi asked gently.

Reid looked at him startled, with moist eyes. He nodded. "I just wish this never happened. Will was a good guy. And this… this is going to be so hard on JJ."

Rossi nodded. "It will be," he agreed as he looked off into the distance, seeing JJ's hand still firmly in Hotch's grasp. "But she's got her friends to help."

Reid just nodded in agreement.

They hurried to catch up with the group. They caught up in time to hear Morgan ask Hotch, "Back to the house?"

"Yeah," Hotch simply answered.

Hotch climbed into the drivers side of the black SUV that JJ was already inside of.

Morgan went to another and Rossi watched both Garcia and Emily get inside. He really wanted Emily to go with him. He was sure she was in a desperate need of a talk; she'd been holding everything in trying to show a strong front for JJ. And he was sure that if she didn't let it out she might breakdown.

Letting out a sigh, he said to Reid, "Come on."

There wasn't anything he could do right now. She was with Morgan at the moment.

* * *

Rossi sat in JJ's living room, sipping at some black coffee. The entire team was there save for JJ, she was upstairs spending time with her infant son. The atmosphere was, to say the least, sombre. Everyone looked at each other with sad, regretful eyes.

Hotch and JJ had beaten them to her house, so no one had seen her since the funeral. The wake wouldn't start for another hour and they all knew she needed time to process the day.

"How's she doing, Hotch?" Morgan broke the thick silence.

Rossi had known Hotch for a long time; he could read the man pretty well. As he watched Hotch glance towards the hallway he knew his friend felt for their media liaison.

"As well as can be expected. I think the shocks warn off. She's starting to deal with it."

Everyone turned to Garcia when she let out a little sob. "I don't know how anyone could ever get over something like this."

Rossi had experience with death, not only through his job, but his own mother and father were both deceased. And when he was a teenager himself, his older brother had died in a car accident. He knew full well of the lasting effects of death.

"I don't think you ever do," he told them solemnly. "Something as final as death, I don't think we ever truly accept. There's always a part of man that wishes things were otherwise."

The team seemed to accept his answer. All agreed that JJ needed her friends now more than ever. There was a moment of silence before a flurry of movement began.

"I'm going to check on the caterers in the kitchen," Emily told them.

Thwarting his chance of getting a moment to talk to her alone, Derek added, "I'll help you out."

Hotch went to check on JJ, leaving him, Reid, and Garcia in the living room. The two were content in sitting quietly. He on the other hand needed some air before the house got even more uncomfortable when the guests arrived.

Once outside he inhaled the cold night air letting it refresh him.

_God, he needed that. _

He started to pace on the front lawn and then moved off to the side of the house.

"Derek, what do you want from me?" he suddenly heard Emily's voice. She sounded distressed.

Rossi stood perfectly still. It was dark, he couldn't make them out and he was sure they couldn't see him. But they must have left the kitchen off the terrace doors to get some privacy. In all good consciousness, he should have made himself known. But he had a feeling he was about to get a little insight into the thing that was Derek and Emily.

"Well, I wanted a chance. A chance to see what could have been between us," Derek freely admitted.

Rossi's eyes widened in surprise. He knew something had happened between the two a month ago. But by Derek's recent behaviour he'd believed the younger man was done with Emily.

_Apparently not._

Emily was quick to protest. "Derek, our jobs—"

"No," Derek cut her off abruptly.

Rossi continued to listen, taken aback by this turn of events. He'd thought it was Derek who'd ended things. But now he was coming to the realization that it was all Emily, not wanting to break the fraternization rule.

"That's not what I want anymore," Derek continued. "What I want is for things to go back to normal. Can we do that?"

There was a long pause where even Rossi held his breath. Though, he commended Derek for trying to make things right, he wasn't doing it in the most sensitive way possible.

"I'd like that," he finally heard her reply. She sounded shaken but there was a hint of relief in her voice.

"Good," Morgan said, ending the conversation.

Rossi heard the terrace doors open. He continued to stand there, waiting to hear them close.

"Damn it," Emily said out loud. "I am such an idiot."

He heard the doors close behind her. He continued to stand there, considering what he just heard.

Even though Emily agreed to want things to go back to normal it seemed she was also confused. And he had to admit she was confusing him too.

_Did she want Derek or not?_

Because Rossi had feelings for her and he was working his way up to admitting that to her. But did he really want to compete for her, against Derek?

_Could he compete with Derek? _He wasn't sure.

_Man, it was all so confusing._

Rossi was startled out of his thoughts when a car door slammed. No time to ponder anymore, he needed to get inside and be there for his friend.

* * *

"I'm surprised you called me," Rossi commented, picking up his cup and taking a sip of his drink.

He eyed the woman sitting across from him carefully.

"I'm glad I did call," the woman replied. "From the sound of your voice it sounded like you needed a friend, someone who'd listen to you. Everything all right?"

He barely held in his incredulous snort when she mentioned the word friend. Ariel Kingston was not a woman he'd ever considered a friend; one-time lover, yes, but not really a friend.

Ariel, red-haired and green eyed, had captured his attention five years ago with her beauty, but also with her boldness. She was his third wife's boss, an editor at a publishing company. His wife had introduced them and, ironically enough, Ariel soon became the reason for the end of his third marriage.

"A friend of mine died two weeks ago," he informed her regretfully.

He was staggered when her green eyes softened; he didn't think he'd ever seen her look empathetic before. She reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze.

"I'm so sorry," she said genuinely.

He was also surprised when she pulled her hand away. The Ariel he knew would have lingered with the touch. Looking up into her eyes, he searched them for any hint of ulterior motives. There was none.

"Uh… thanks," he said awkwardly.

She gave him a small smile. Silence settled between them. In that silence, he had a chance to contemplate how things ended between them. It hadn't been good.

His wife had found out about him and Ariel. It wasn't as if he wasn't going to tell her, but he had wanted to do it. Ariel had always denied that it was her who'd told his ex, but he hadn't believed her. She'd asked for a chance to explain, but at the time he'd been too angry. After that he'd only seen her a few times in various publishing capacities. She never again asked to explain.

_Was he still angry at her?_ _No._

Now, that the anger had diminished he realized that the failure of his marriage was entirely his fault. Yes, what _they_ had done was wrong, but he had been the one who'd been attached, not Ariel.

Now, as he stared at her all he wondered was what had provoked her to call him after all this time?

"Ariel," he started. "Why did you call me?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was rummaging through some old photos. I found the one of you and me at that amusement park outside of DC. Remember?"

He nodded.

_Yeah, he remembered, he remembered that that was the first time he'd felt he'd been falling for her._

"Yeah, so I was curious to see how you were doing," she finished.

He gave her a raised eyebrow. "That's it, you were curious?"

She nodded, and then did something else he'd never thought her capable of; she looked off to the side shyly.

"I missed you," she admitted.

Taken aback, he said the first thing that popped into his mind, "You've changed."

She gave him another brighter smile, a glitter of her old self in her eyes. "I'd like to think I've done some growing up."

"I see that," he agreed.

"So… I was hoping you'd consider going out with me sometime," she said boldly.

"Ok, so you haven't changed that much," he said wryly.

They shared a laugh. When it died down she prompted him to answer. "So…"

He had feelings for Emily, but he'd noticed that the ice between her and Derek had melted and things seemed to be heating up between them again. He didn't know if he could compete with that. He was an old man, he wasn't sure he was up to the challenge that was Emily Prentiss. But he knew that with Ariel things would be easy.

"It's a possibility," he answered her vaguely.

"Great!" she exclaimed, giving him a one-hundred watt smile.

* * *

So, that's it for now. I'll try my best to update soon!

Thanks to everyone who's reading this. And thanks to everyone who reviewed**: kdzl; canny-bairn; EmmaBerlin** _(I hope this chapter shed some more light on Emily and Derek for you; I won't go into a ton of detail about their relationship, because it is its own story: Conflicted);_ **and p95000**.


	5. Eavesdropper

**A/N:** Well, as promised I'm doing my best to focus on this story. So, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! It's a long-ish one. Please R&R! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 5: Eavesdropper:**

* * *

"Don't go."

Rossi felt Ariel tug at his fingers as he tried to get out of the bed. He let her pull him back onto the bed.

Giving her a quick kiss he said, "Sorry sweetheart, but its back to work today."

The younger than him—by about fifteen years—woman gave him a pout as she returned his kiss.

It had been a month since Will's death; the team had been put on standby for the two weeks after, and when they did get back to work they did mostly consultations and paperwork trying to readjust themselves so as to be prepared for all the tragedy they'd see.

But this day was different because today they weren't just going to be sitting around the bullpen all day. Rossi had gotten a call early that morning from Hotch; they had a case in Georgia, a pretty gruesome one involving body parts, not bodies.

"Can't they handle it without you?" Ariel selfishly asked.

He frowned at her. When they'd first met he'd been retired from the BAU. Writing books had been his only occupation, so he'd made his own schedule. Now, he was at the whim of whoever needed him and if Ariel didn't understand that, well… it was plain that this wouldn't last.

"Probably," he answered her question. "But you know that saying the more the merrier?" She nodded. "Well in our case it's the more the less dead bodies we have."

She visibly cringed at him and then pushed him away. "Go then. I can't be greedy when people are dying, I guess."

He quirked on eyebrow at her. Lately, she'd had the habit of catching him off guard. One minute, she'd be just like her old self and the next, she'd be completely different. He had to admit she was intriguing him and keeping him on his toes. A position that Emily had held until recently, since most of her time was being occupied by Morgan. They sure hadn't talked like they used to.

"I'll call you when I get a chance," he said, not giving a guarantee.

She gave him a pout but held her comment. He put on his clothes in silence. When he finished he turned to give her a kiss bye.

"I'd like to meet your team sometime," she said nonchalantly.

It was his turn to frown. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"To see if any of them are better looking then you," she joked, laughing. "Dave, why do you think? You spend most of your time with them; they're like your family. And we've been dating awhile now—"

"Two weeks is hardly the milestone to reach before you meet each others family," he said, sounding harsher then intended.

He let out a sigh when she looked taken aback. He couldn't help his response. She was right, the team was his family. They were personal and private and letting Ariel in on that part of his life would make things serious for him.

But this was like a reality check of sorts. It seemed that to Ariel things _were_ serious.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Look, they're all pretty busy. But the next time I get a chance I'll introduce you, ok?"

Her face lit up, as if a moment before she hadn't been sad. "Ok," she said eagerly.

He chuckled at her response as he finished tying up his boots and then stood up.

"What are you going to be up to while I'm gone?" he asked.

"Meeting with some authors, going over their books," she said in an offhand manner. "Nothing as interesting as what you'll be doing."

"It's still interesting," he assured her. "Just without the blood."

She smiled at him and gave him a kiss goodbye.

* * *

Rossi knew that he was late as he boarded the jet that was heading for Atlanta. He hated being late. He'd have to set his alarm for an earlier time if he ever stayed at Ariel's before a work day. The goodbye kiss had definitely gone on longer than he'd intended.

But he was reassured by the pilot telling him only Emily and Garcia—her computer skills, were needed on location—were the only ones on board.

He hung back, stowing his go bag in the compartments at the front of the plane. His two colleagues' voices drifted to him from behind the curtain. And for the second time in a month he found himself partial to a conversation he wasn't supposed to hear.

"If he cares so much about me then why doesn't he want to… you know?" Emily's voice came out strong, but unsure.

Rossi's eyes widened at the topic he'd stumbled upon. Even though he knew he shouldn't be listening in he had to wonder at what the heck Derek's problem was? If Emily had been his girlfriend she would never leave his bed ever. Rossi was now convinced that Derek was not for her.

"Em, dear," Garcia began in her 'I'm explaining something to a child' voice. "It's because he cares so much about you that he's abstaining."

_What the heck was Garcia was talking about? _If you loved someone you wanted to show them that you cared. Emily seemed to agree.

"I don't follow."

Garcia let out a long suffering sigh. "What happened the last time you got together? That's right, you ran. See, Derek cares about you. He wants to be with you. And he doesn't want to scare you away. Hence, the taking it real slow," Garcia paused long enough to take a breath and then gushed, "He's such a sweetie that way, isn't he?"

"Ah… I see, he is sweet," Emily said in awe.

A twinge of jealously jolted him in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure he liked that sound of adoration coming from Emily, especially when it was pertaining to another man.

"Good, now turn that frown upside down. And just talk to the stud-man. Let him know you aren't going to run."

_Stud-man?_ He'd heard enough of Garcia's theorizing. Putting a neutral look on his face, he pushed the curtain aside, making his presence known.

"Who's going to run?" he asked absently.

Emily's eyes were on him scrutinizing him immediately. He assumed she was thinking along the lines of how much did he hear? But he kept his face impassive.

"Emily," Garcia answered, earning herself an incredulous look from Emily, which she proceeded to ignore, "_isn't_ going to run from Derek."

He put on his best quizzical, 'what the heck are you talking about' look and said, "Oh?" His eyebrow shot up adding to the question.

Emily was blushing profusely. "Never mind," she murmured.

Garcia looked from Emily to Rossi in bewilderment, unsure of what the sudden tension was about.

"Yeah," she said boisterously. "Everything's peachy now after our little girl-talk."

He frowned, he couldn't help it. When Emily had problems before she had come to him for advice. _Now she was going to Garcia? Was his incredulity towards their relationship that obvious?_ He thought he'd been hiding it pretty well. _Apparently not._

Rossi was about to speak up and remind Emily that she could talk to him if she needed, but Reid suddenly popped in.

"We ready to go?" he asked.

And just like that the conversation turned from Emily's love life, to betting on the probability of Hotch joining them on this case—JJ was still off duty, and Hotch had taken to staying by her side.

In the end, when Morgan showed up without their esteemed Unit Chief, Rossi—having picked up on Hotch's protectiveness towards JJ—was a little bit richer.

* * *

Emily stood there in the conference room at the precinct they'd based themselves out of, arms across her chest. She was listening intently to Morgan dole out the duties—he was taking the lead on the case while Hotch was gone. But even as she was listening all she could think about was the two men on either side of her: Morgan on her one side, and Rossi standing off to her other side. Both were probably the most important men in her life. But both at the moment were frustrating the hell out of her; each with completely different reasons, but still the end feeling was all the same.

"Prentiss," she heard Morgan's voice jolt her back to the here and now. "Did you hear me?"

She looked at him, giving him a sheepish look. "Sorry."

Morgan gave her a questioning look before repeating himself. "I need you and Rossi to check out the crime scenes, we—"

"No," she said abruptly.

This time Morgan gave her an incredulous, at a loss for words look. And she didn't dare look at Rossi.

The thing was something was up with him. She wasn't able to put her finger on it, but she was sure it had something to do with her new relationship with the man who was currently staring at her disapprovingly. And she wasn't ready to hear Rossi's opinion on it; he was her good friend, and she valued his advice. She wasn't sure how'd she'd feel about him if he disapproved of her relationship with Derek, the man she'd come to care about deeply.

"I mean," she quickly amended. "I thought you wanted me to talk to the family, since I've already spoken with Mr. Richards."

Morgan gave her the same look for a moment longer, then glanced to her side, presumably at Rossi and then back at her. "Right," he said, slowly. "Reid, go with Rossi."

Emily held in her sigh of relief until she walked over to the precinct's lonely coffee machine. Pouring herself a cup, she jumped in the air, splashing coffee everywhere when she heard from behind her, "You're not avoiding me, are you?"

"Damn it, Dave," she exclaimed, a little too loudly.

She whirled around to glare at him and he had the nerve to chuckle.

"You know, if you're mad at me that's fine," he said, amused. "But, at least let me in on it."

"I'm mad, because you made me spill coffee all over the place," she half told the truth.

"And before, not wanting to go to the crime scene with me," he asked more seriously.

"That was nothing; I've already talked to Mr. Richards. Don't you think it's kinder to him if he deals with me again and not some new face asking him the same painful questions over again?"

"Ok," he conceded.

Emily felt a wash of relief overcome her when he seemed to be about to move on.

He paused, turning around. "You know, I know it's been awhile, but I'm here for you if you need to talk."

_Was he purposely trying to make her feel bad?_

"I know," she said, softening her tone. "Thanks."

He nodded and walked off to join Reid.

Maybe she'd take him up on his offer. But first she needed to make sure things _were_ 'peachy' with Morgan. _One problem at a time…_

* * *

The plane ride home from Atlanta had been delayed a full night and day. Now flying home the next night, Rossi was wide awake, having had taken advantage of the day to catch up on a few extra hours sleep.

He looked around the sleeping passengers of the jet. Reid was out cold, sitting across from Garcia, who was also in dreamland. Rossi didn't really want to look at the other occupants of the plane, but it was like a train wreck, you just couldn't not look.

Morgan was fast asleep, his hand firmly entwined with Emily's. It was the only outward show of their relationship status that he'd seen during the entire case. They had been completely professional. But he knew thoughts of that professionalism had flew out of Emily's head the minute the case had been solved, as evidenced by him sneaking a peek at Emily tip-toeing towards Derek's room the previous night.

He realized Emily was awake when she leaned over and gave Derek a kiss on the cheek. The man didn't stir, but Emily sat back contently. Rossi continued to stare at the pair curiously. Maybe he didn't know them well enough—though, he thought he did—but he just couldn't figure out what would draw them to each other. They were so different.

Apparently, he'd been staring holes into Emily, because she suddenly turned to look at him, blushing almost immediately. He saw a look pass through her eyes before she disentangled her hand from the sleeping man's and made her way across the plane to sit before him.

"Hey Dave," she greeted, her voice warm. It seemed that she'd gotten over her anger at him.

"Emily," he said simply. "Can't sleep either?"

She gave him a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders and replied, "Nope, got too much on my mind."

He asked the obvious question, "Good things, I hope?" knowing full well what was on her mind.

Her blush was more of an answer than her simple, "Yeah."

Rossi knew Emily would be unattainable, he knew that since the moment he'd developed feelings for her. She was too smart for him, too good to get involved with the likes of him. So why did something in his chest twist at the mere thought of Emily with someone else?

"I see things with you and Derek are going well," he said instead of saying what he really wanted to say, which was, 'Why the heck are you with him?'

She nodded. "Derek's great. I really care about him," then blushing profusely, she paused, as if suddenly remembering who she was talking to. "Of course, that won't get in the way of our jobs. We both agreed to be completely professional on the job."

He gave her a wry grin, he didn't want her to be uncomfortable around him, so he said, "Relax Em, I know you're a good agent. One of the best. Besides, I'm not you boss, Hotch is."

"Thanks," she said good-naturedly.

Rossi gave a quick glance at the man in question; Derek seemed to be stirring.

"So," Rossi said slowly. "Was he part of the stress you were feeling last month?"

Emily's eyes widened in surprise at his question. "Oh… I guess, a little… but that was all a misunderstanding. We've fixed things since then."

"I see," Rossi said neutrally.

He glanced at Derek once again; he had a feeling that the man was awake. So, he was going to take the opportunity to gauge his responses, see how much the man actually cared for Emily.

"I've got to admit, I never really thought of you and Derek as a couple," he said truthfully.

From this distance he noticed Derek's body jump and his face got all scrunched up. The man wasn't happy.

"Why not?" Emily said, confused.

"Because, you just don't seem like each others type," he answered.

He thought he'd seen Derek's eyes flare open, but they were closed just as quickly.

"How so?" Emily asked, willing to hear him out.

Rossi let out a sigh. That's why he liked Emily so much, she'd keep an open mind, even if you were attacking what she knew and cared about. And that's what it suddenly felt like he was doing, attacking her relationship with Derek. It was wrong; she was clearly very happy. And he should be happy for her.

But the determined look in her eyes said she wouldn't settle for anything less than an answer.

"I'll put it in terms of an analogy: High School. You seem like the type of girl who joins the debate club for fun, who's on every committee there is and who is friends with everyone," Rossi explained. "And Derek… seems like the football player type."

Derek jumped again.

"A jock?" Emily asked, amused.

"A very smart one," he assured.

Emily let out a little chuckle. "Trust me Dave, Derek and I have a lot more in common than just our jobs."

Derek seemed to visibly relax and Rossi took that as his cue to back off. He'd caused enough trouble, but everything was still all right.

"Besides, I care about him a lot," she said with finality.

She stood up and bid him good night and was back sitting next to a seemingly sleeping Morgan.

He watched on as Emily gave her boyfriend another kiss on the cheek, still wishing that was him.

* * *

Well that's it for now. Thanks to anyone who's reading. And thanks to my two reviewers: **p95000; and miaa29.**


	6. A New Leaf?

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait. I've started another story that might quickly become another epic… like this one will be. So, my attention will once again be divided.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this one! (FYI this one coincides with chapter 4 of Conflicted and chapter 4 of For You, Always)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 6: A New Leaf?**

* * *

Rossi was walking into his office that morning, prepared for the long day of consultations and phone interviews he'd be doing all day long. Today would be the first day JJ would be back at work after Will's death. And, as a help to her, the team wasn't going to take a case for a few days until she was all caught up.

"Hey Rossi," Reid greeted him.

"Hey," Rossi replied, throwing the young doctor confused looks, having seen him just come out of JJ's office. "Is JJ in already?"

Reid looked behind him and then back at the older agent with a sheepish look.

"Uh no… no, not yet… I was just in there trying to tidy things up for her before she got in."

Rossi nodded. That would be a huge feat if Reid had accomplished it. Everyone knew JJ's office was nicknamed 'the disaster zone.'

"Any luck?"

Reid grimaced. "I tried, I really did," he said determinedly.

Rossi gave the younger man a pat on the shoulder.

"It's the thought that counts," he assured.

Standing in the middle of the walkway, they had to move aside when a young woman started to come their way. She was pretty, with Mediterranean coloring, and long dark brown hair.

She smiled demurely at Rossi. "Morning Agent," she said quickly and then she turned to look at Reid, her smile completely changed. "Morning Doctor Reid."

The agent kept walking and Reid murmured back, almost a second too late, "Uh… morning Agent Sayid."

She turned in her step and gave Reid a shy, but flirtatious smile and a wave of her hand.

The exchange did not go unnoticed by Rossi. Looking at the younger man, it was clear that Reid was trying his hardest not to blush.

Rossi made a throat clearing sound to get the genius's attention. Reid looking uncomfortable under Rossi's knowing stare, tried to get away.

"You know her?" Rossi questioned, before he could get one foot away.

Reid grimaced. "Hardly," he said. "I've uh… seen her around."

Rossi smiled at him, happy to see him taking an interest in something other than work or books.

"She's pretty," Rossi commented.

Lost in thought, Reid nodded and murmured, "Yeah she is," and then realization came to his face. "I mean… I've got to go."

Rossi chuckled at his friend's reaction.

He unlocked his office door while musing that spring must have been in the air, even though it was about a month away from Christmas. Everyone seemed to be pairing up. Garcia had long ago snagged Kevin. Derek and Emily seemed to be going strong, much to his chagrin. And even JJ and Hotch seemed to be getting closer.

He couldn't complain though, he was still seeing Ariel, after all. Two months of dating and she still hadn't grown another head. She was still the same Ariel that had asked him out to lunch two months ago. No surprises, he always knew where he stood with her. She sure wasn't giving him any reason to be suspicious. But cautious, he still was.

Rossi dropped his briefcase on the floor and started to flip through the files on his desk when a knock came at his door.

"Come in," he called.

Garcia walked in looking nervous, an effect his office always had on the analyst. "Uh… JJ's here. We were all going to welcome her back. I made a cake," she started. "Come join us?"

He nodded. "Be right there."

* * *

Dave sat at the table, silently eating his sushi. It was lunch time and, as it was also JJ's first day back, the team had mutually agreed on taking her out to lunch. Everyone was there, minus Hotch—Unit Chief's did not get lunch breaks, apparently.

The occasion was supposed to be a happy one, but it was fast falling into the bittersweet category. Of course, it was great to have JJ back—their team was whole again—but, at the same time, no one could forget what had taken her away in the first place. And every one of them, including himself, seemed to be dancing around JJ, as if the slightest mention of Will would break her.

"How does it feel to be back, JJ?" Reid asked an innocent but loaded question.

Rossi and the rest of the team watched her face intently. What she said next would determine their own behaviour.

_Would they continue to dance on eggshells?_

"Uh… good," JJ answered, tentatively. "Feels like life is going back to normal… uh, kind of."

More silence followed her answer. Rossi felt that she was being truthful, but at the same time it was as if she was asking permission from them. As if she was actually saying, "Is that ok?"

A minute later the air was still tense and silent. That was when he caught Morgan shooting looks at Garcia across the table. The looks were full of meaning and insistence, but just what the meaning was, Dave did not know. And apparently Garcia didn't either.

"Morgan, hun, are you ok? You're not choking, are you?" she questioned, clearly confused, more than concerned.

All eyes were on him now, effectively taking the spotlight off of the bereaved JJ. And Dave realized that that had been the younger man's intention.

_Good on him…_ Dave thought.

And then Emily, sitting at Morgan's side, suddenly looked at her boyfriend in concern. Hand affectionately resting on Morgan's back she asked, "What's wrong?"

Dave frowned deeply at that. He couldn't help it. And he had to remind himself once again that he was happy, if she was happy.

But when the next thing Morgan did was take Emily's hand in his, placing a kiss on the back of her hand, the mantra flew from his head. And, instead, he put his effort into minimizing his frown.

"I'm fine," Morgan answered her. "Don't worry. Not exactly sure what's up with Penelope, though?"

Penelope took on a chagrined look. "But you… you did… you were…" she trailed off. "Never mind."

Everyone at the table shared a laugh at the further antics of Morgan and Garcia. The tension seemed to be long forgotten.

"Uh… I see Hotch wasn't lying to me…" JJ said with a smile on her face.

Rossi knew Hotch well. The man didn't really lie. So, he was curious as to what JJ would find unbelievable enough to question him.

"About?" he asked.

She gave him a brief look and then gestured towards the wonder couple. "About those two. It's nice to finally see you two together."

Morgan echoed his sentiments. "Finally?"

JJ let out a little chuckle. "Oh, come on… We all saw this coming from the moment Emily joined the BAU."

Having been the newest member to this current team, Rossi had not been around to witness this. And he found he wanted the details.

"Really?" he questioned, a hint of skepticism in his voice. He didn't look at Emily, but he felt her eyes suddenly on him.

"Yeah," Reid answered; surprising Rossi because he wasn't known for his perceptiveness in the matters of the heart. "They would constantly be at each others side, always talking and whispering, pretty much inseparable."

Rossi raised an eyebrow at this new info. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

"We were too," Emily scoffed, laughing.

"Nope, Reid may have been the first one to befriend you, Em, but we all know that it was Morgan you first opened up too," Garcia added her two cents.

This intrigued him. "Opened up to?"

Morgan looked at Emily affectionately as he spoke. "She had this 'I'm a professional' outlook on things. She didn't' believe in mixing her personal life with her professional one, so she kept to herself for a bit."

Rossi suddenly realized that these two had a history together. One that began long before he was in the picture. The idea that someone knew her better than he did stung a bit. So, he blamed what he said next on that.

"I see," he said bluntly. "But not anymore."

Morgan eyed him suspiciously. The younger man looked like he was ready to start something. And truthfully, Rossi hadn't known exactly why he'd said what he'd said. He sure hadn't wanted to disparage Emily's character. She was his friend, after all. And he cared about her.

"Yes," Emily started calmly, eyeing him intently. "But we know where the line is… I thought we already talked about this…"

A moment of silence settled over the table once again. And this time the tension was for a completely different reason. All eyes followed the line of tension between him and Emily.

He needed to back off, quickly. She was right. They had talked about it and he'd said he was all right with it.

_He was happy as long as she was happy, right?_

Well, it had to be that way because he couldn't keep up the incredulity while at the same time saying it was all right with him. That wasn't right.

"Hey," he said, holding his hands up. "I didn't mean anything by that. I know you two are great at your jobs. You wouldn't do anything to jeopardize a case. Like I said before Em, relax."

It was the truth; he knew they'd always do a great job. It wasn't _that _that he was worried about. It was just he was still unconvinced by how right for each other they really were.

Looking around the table he could see that he'd ruffled some feathers and that everyone seemed desperate for a subject change.

"Hey," he gave in. "Anyone seen any good movies lately?"

* * *

Hotch was standing in the bull pen when his team returned from the 'welcome back' lunch they'd planned for JJ. He was sad to miss it, but Strauss had wanted to meet with him about something or other.

But, as he watched his team return to their desks with sombre looks on their faces, he wondered if missing it had been such a bad thing.

He stopped JJ mid-stride with a hand to her shoulder. He gave her a questioning look before saying, "Hey, how was lunch?"

She gave him a wry smile. "Eventful."

_Eventful?_

He wasn't sure what she could mean. "But, you're ok?"

She nodded, giving him a grateful smile. "I'm fine, really. It's Dave, Emily and Derek you should probably be asking that…"

Still not knowing what she meant, he let her go, knowing she had a lot of work to do herself. Instead, as Rossi strode past him, heading for his upper level office, he fell into stride with the slightly older man.

"Everything all right?" he asked; _no need in beating around the bush._

Rossi eyed him warily. "You heard?"

They entered Dave's office, shutting the door behind them. "Not really," Hotch answered. "I just know something happened at lunch, care to talk about it?"

"Not really," Dave scoffed.

It seemed that was all he was going to say and Hotch was about to leave—he was not big on prying. But then Dave suddenly blurted out, "You know about Emily and Derek right?"

Hotch frowned. "About their relationship? Yes, I've known for awhile now."

It wasn't ideal for two members in the same unit to be romantically involved, heck, it was even against the rules. But after all the tragedy they saw, after all the things the team went through he was willing to let them have their bit of happiness.

"And you're all right with it?" Dave asked him skeptically.

Hotch let out a sigh. He knew most people would have thought he'd be the first one who would have frowned upon such an occurrence. And truthfully, in the past, he would have been. But now he'd come to realize that life was too short to worry about the little things, when there were so many bigger things to get you down.

"Look it's unorthodox, I know—" he started.

"Unorthodox?" Rossi scoffed. "It's against Bureau rules!"

Hotch frowned at the irony the man was presenting. "Dave…"

Rossi let out a sigh, cutting him off. "I know, I know," he amended. "I'm the reason the rules were instated…"

"They're good agents, Dave, they haven't brought it to work with them," he paused, "And they're happy…"

If they could find happiness in this world of theirs he wouldn't begrudge them that. Hotch knew how hard it was to find and grab hold of that as a member of the BAU.

Rossi was nodding. "And Strauss?"

"She knows," he said solemnly. "I told her I'll take the full repercussions should anything go wrong."

"What?" Rossi exclaimed. "Hotch that woman's already got a bull's-eye on your ass… why would you do that?"

"I guess… I see it," he said simply.

He'd seen it for awhile now, how close his two agents were becoming.

"And I believe it," Hotch added.

Rossi gave him a nod in understanding, taking a seat at his desk.

Hotch eyed his old friend carefully, suddenly wondering at all the questions.

"Are you all right?" he wanted to know.

Rossi nodded.

Hotch didn't want to pry so he simply said, "All right. But if you need to… talk, you know where to find me."

* * *

Dave looked like he was working as he sat there with all his paperwork in front of him. But in actuality he was recalling everything that Hotch had said. It had really lit a light bulb inside his head.

_Emily and Morgan were serious._

He was startled out of his thoughts when a knock came at his door. "Come in," he said quickly.

"Emily?" he said in surprise when she slipped inside and shut the door behind her.

She didn't answer until she was sitting in a chair in front of his desk.

"Dave, are we good?"

He knew what she was talking about, but he played dumb nonetheless. Pointing between them he said, "Us two?"

"Yeah, are we ok? Because I'm getting the vibe that we aren't," she said bluntly.

He gave a shrug of his shoulders. He was suddenly tired of this conversation. He was tired of talking about her relationship with another man. But he'd vowed when he'd seen her at her most vulnerable to protect her, to keep her happy. He had to start doing that.

"I thought I already said, twice, that you didn't have to worry about me," he tried to assure.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But, I'm not so convinced. So, can you please tell me what's wrong?"

He didn't want to say anything. He just wanted her to be happy. What could he say that wouldn't sadden her or ruin their relationship?

"Look Emily," he started. "I'm just worried."

"Worried, about me?" she scoffed. "How come?"

He decided on the truth.

"I was there a few months ago, remember? You were constantly stressed, nervous, and on edge. I did not enjoy watching you like that Emily. You're my friend, and I care about you."

"Aww… thanks Dave, I care about you too," she said affectionately, oblivious to the fact that her kind of 'care' and his kind of 'care' were not really the same.

"But you don't have to worry. I told you that Morgan and I are doing great. And all that before was just a misunderstanding."

_Yeah, a misunderstanding that had her in near tears almost daily._ But his newer, enlightened self, answered instead, "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't," she said wholeheartedly. She got up to leave. "But, thanks for your concern. It's really nice to know you care."

_If only she knew how much…_

"I'm here for you if you need me," he said instead.

She nodded. "I'm sure I'll need to talk your ear off sooner or later."

"My ear is waiting," he said smiling.

She gave his shoulder a brief pat and was gone.

Today was the day he'd turn over a new leaf. Today, he'd let her go so she could have her happiness.

Or at least, today was the day he'd start to try…

* * *

Well thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!

Thanks again to my two reviewers: **p95000 and miaa29.**


	7. Blunder

**A/N:** Hey all! Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 7: Blunder:**

* * *

Rossi was sitting at his kitchen table, enjoying the morning cup of coffee he'd been drinking, the cup that Ariel had brewed for him. He was signing onto his laptop, but he spared a look at the woman moving around his kitchen.

Ariel was moving with an eagerness he would have never associated with her when he'd known her so long ago. Back then cooking and Ariel were two words he'd never put in the same sentence. But she'd surprised him by calling him up and asking if she could come over and make him breakfast.

After he'd gotten over the shock of her wanting to cook for him—they'd been dating for three months now, this was the first he'd heard of her cooking—he was then shocked by her calling ahead to ask. But since they'd reacquainted themselves with each other, she'd never once come over unannounced, so he wasn't sure why it still surprised him.

He knew he had to get to work later, but Ariel in the kitchen was a sight he did not want to miss. So far, it was a rather normal one.

He went back to his laptop opening up his Bureau email, deciding to check the daily memos right then. Scrolling through them, they were all pretty standard, except for one.

Clicking it open, he marvelled at the flyer for the Bureau's annual Christmas party, how did they continue with it every year? It was never fun, always a complete bore. To top it off, it was a black tie affair and he hated tuxes. Ready to delete it and be done with that, he was surprised when Ariel screeched from behind him.

Turning around, he was taken aback by her excited expression.

"A Christmas party? How fun!" she exclaimed. "Sorry. I was coming to give you this when I saw what you were looking at."

Rossi took in the pate of food she held, stacked high with all his favourite breakfast foods.

"Thanks," he said, taking it from her.

She sat down opposite from him, watching him with a smile on her face.

"So," she started. "Are you going?"

He was ready to scoff at the prospect but the bright, shining smile on her face told him that she really meant, "Are _we_ going?"

His heart melted a bit at her sudden childlike excitement. Of course she'd want to go with him. As much as he'd avoided saying so, she was his girlfriend. But the party was so boring; people watched each other so carefully that no one had any fun. Still…

"Of course _we're_ going," he said with emphasis.

She let out a squeal of delight and came around to hug him around the shoulders. Ariel gave him a kiss on the cheek. And then she went back to the kitchen to start cleaning, chattering all the way.

"What should I wear? I've got to go shopping; I've got absolutely nothing…"

He tuned her out going back to his email. But then her voice tuned back in when she asked, "Do you think your friends will like me?"

Despite her asking him to introduce them months ago, he still hadn't found the right time. And she hadn't pressed him. On top of that he hadn't told anyone they'd been dating.

As he looked at her carefully, he wondered at what they'd see. Would they see the strong, aggressive woman he knew? Or would they see her as a young woman dating someone almost twice her age? And what would they think about that?

"They'll love you," he said, unsure really, but it was the boyfriend-ly thing to do.

Luckily, it earned him another unexpected kiss.

* * *

Rossi let out a sigh as he walked through the bull pen. He was late again. This time, he blamed it on Ariel's fine cooking. But at least he wasn't too late. He could see his fellow team members walking into the conference room just now. He'd only be a minute behind them.

Not bothering to drop his coat off in his office, he walked straight for the conference room. JJ was just handing out the case files.

"Sorry I'm late," he quickly lamented.

"Late night?" Morgan inquired.

He looked up at the younger man and at Emily beside him; the two looked a bit on the tired side themselves.

_Look who's talking…_

"Nah, just had an early breakfast… meeting… it went a little long," he said vaguely.

Emily raised a questioning brow at him.

"We've got a case?" Rossi stated, turning the talk to more professional fodder.

"Yes," JJ said simply, gesturing towards their case files. "Agent Sayid from Organized Crime brought this in to us…"

Agent Sayid, now that name was familiar. Catching a look at Reid's face he remembered she was the agent that he had a thing for.

"She thinks that it's one for the BAU," JJ continued. "It's got them stumped and she thinks we might be able to help out…"

"I bet she does," Morgan said loudly, smiling at Reid.

Reid blushed visibly, but said nothing.

Emily gave Derek an elbow to the side, effectively shutting off any more rude comments.

Rossi shot the young doctor an encouraging look. He was glad that he seemed to be getting some affection.

"Three men were found dead," JJ's voice brought them all back to reality.

Rossi pushed thoughts of relationships out of his mind and focused on his job.

* * *

Emily was driving back to the station they had based themselves out of after having examined the latest crime scene, when she'd gotten the call to check out a disturbance that may have been related to their case. She shifted her driving direction to head for the scene. She was close. Proper protocol said she needed to wait for backup. But she knew a squad car and Reid and Rossi weren't too far away.

Emily pulled up to a house in one of the better neighbourhoods in San Francisco. It made sense, for the un-sub's next attack to be here; based on the previous victims, the un-sub seemed to be working his way up through the organized crime chain, starting with a minor drug dealer.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary right away. And then she could hear it, screaming. The un-sub was near his breaking point. They'd profiled a man, a member of a local gang who'd experienced a traumatic event recently. Like a disgruntled employee going after his employer. He was working his way up and with each kill he was becoming more and more erratic.

Emily pulled out her gun, holding it out in front of her at the ready. She approached the door that was already partially open. Her quick observation skills noticed that the door had been shot open.

She pushed it open, looking right then left. The living room and kitchen were clear. The shouts were coming from up the stairs. Emily climbed up tentatively. Step by step the shouts became clearer, the chaos more real, the terror palpable. Emily could decipher the voices: two males, a woman, and a child.

She paused on the upstairs landing, taking in the situation. There were four doors, the shouts were coming from the one two doors down. She couldn't wait for the others now that she knew a child was involved.

Emily slowly approached the door. She put a free hand on the door knob and turned. The door pushed open and Emil quickly took in the perilous situation: man bleeding from the shoulder, crouched on the floor; woman and child huddled together in the space between the dresser and wall. They appeared to be in the little boy's room.

"Who are you?" the un-sub shouted. He suddenly had his gun pointed in her face.

Emily held up her hands to placate him. "I'm Emily Prentiss with the FBI; I'm here to help you."

She shot a look at the family on the floor. They were terrified.

"Do you know what they did?" he yelled, pointing his gun at the family.

"Hey, hey," she shouted to get his attention on her. "Why don't you start by telling me your name?"

"My name!" he shouted. "My name is Kyle Johnson and this man killed my family."

"I… I don't… know what he's talking about," the man on the ground gritted out.

Emily shook her head at him. Talking right now would not help.

"Shut up!" Johnson yelled, kicking the man in the gut. "You know what you did!" The man sputtered on the ground. "And now I'm going to take your family way."

The un-sub aimed the gun at the woman and child.

"Hey," Emily shouted. "Talk to me, tell me what you want."

Johnson turned his body towards her again. She was trying to stall for time. She certainly didn't expect the man on the ground to suddenly tackle Johnson to the ground.

The un-sub fell hard to the ground. Emily jumped into action, pushing the already injured man to the side. She tried to pin Johnson to the ground. But his gun wielding hand came up to slam into her forehead. The butt end of the gun connected with her forehead disorienting her.

He pushed her off him and she fell back, clutching at her head. Wincing in pain, she caught a glimpse of Johnson hovering over her, gun aimed straight at her.

_Morgan's going to kill me… _she thought.

And then she heard her name being shouted. She thought it was Reid. But everything was blurry. The next thing she knew Rossi was at her side.

"Emily, hey, can you hear me?" he asked as he pulled her up to a sitting position.

"Yeah…" she murmured. "Yeah…"

She pulled her hand away from her forehead and flinched at the sight of blood.

"Here," Rossi said to her, helping her to her feet. "Let's get you to the paramedics."

"I'm… fine," she said, gasping at the sudden head rush.

"Yeah, fine," Rossi murmured sarcastically, "Sure…"

She had a moment to take in her surroundings—Reid tending to the family, officer's escorting Johnson out—all before Rossi led her out of the house.

* * *

Rossi watched through the glass windows into the precinct's conference room as a bandaged up Emily got chewed out by Hotch.

It hadn't been smart of her to go in alone. But he knew that if the situation had been reversed he would have done the same.

Hotch seemed to be winding down, growing calmer. He knew that the Unit Chief was angrier because Emily could have been seriously hurt or worse over the fact that she didn't follow protocol. She no doubt was getting a stern reprimand.

Hotch gave her one last frown before turning to leave. Emily stayed put. Rossi did not hide the fact that he'd been blatantly watching.

"You go easy on her?" Rossi asked before Hotch could get away.

Hotch let out a harsh sigh before stopping before him. "What she did was stupid and reckless—"

"And yet you would have done the exact same," Rossi finished for him dryly.

Hotch blew out a breath of hot air. "It doesn't change the fact that she could have been killed tonight."

Rossi gave the stoic man a pat on the shoulder. "But she wasn't."

Hotch nodded and then walked away.

Rossi looked back at the conference room to see Emily still standing there. She looked so forlorn; he had to cheer her up.

"Hey," he said, entering the conference room and shutting the door behind him.

She groaned out loud. "Not you too!" She clutched at her forehead in pain.

Rossi held up his hand. "I'm just here to see how you're doing," Rossi paused. "Morgan chew you out too?"

"No," she said in an annoyed voice. "He checked on me, made sure I was all right. But you could see in his eyes how furious he was."

He nodded. To tell the truth, he hadn't been too happy about what she'd done. But that was who she was.

"I couldn't wait," she protested. "There was a kid in there."

Rossi nodded again. He got that.

It turned out that Johnson's family had been murdered brutally by the local mob boss, due to Johnson's accumulated gambling debts. Johnson snapped after that. He'd been working his way up to the big guy in charge when he'd gotten the wrong family that night. Luckily, the family was alive, and Johnson was going to get help.

"Are you all right?" Rossi wanted to know.

Emily stared at him for a moment. And then her hand went to her bandaged forehead. "This? This is nothing. It doesn't even—" she winced. "—hurt anymore."

Rossi nodded, throwing her an incredulous look. "Uh huh, ok," he said, he went to her side putting his arm around her shoulders. "I think you've had enough excitement for today. Let's get you back to the hotel."

She halted their progress momentarily. Facing him, she gave him a soft, considering look. "Thanks for not being mad."

He gave her a wry smile. "Oh, I'm furious," he said, amused. "But I'm also glad you're all right."

He put his arm back around her, leading her out. But he got the surprise of a lifetime when he suddenly felt her lips on his cheek.

"Thanks Dave," she murmured.

He smiled brightly; like it was Christmas day and he'd gotten just what he'd asked for.

And he realized that just because he was dating Ariel didn't mean he still didn't care for Emily.

* * *

Thanks for reading! And thanks to my reviewers: **canny-bairn; Starrmyst; and p95000**.


	8. Matchmakers

**A/N:** Hello all. Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I had a bit of writers block with all my stories which was super frustrating. But, I think I'm good for now…

Anyways, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 8: Matchmakers:**

* * *

Rossi cast another surreptitious glance at the woman on his right. They were flying home from San Francisco and he knew the entire team was breathing a collective sigh of relief especially since they'd come so close to one of them being in extreme harm's way.

Even though he'd understood Emily's actions during the case the night before didn't mean he hadn't been worried about her. He still was; she'd taken quite a bump to the head. But he worried silently, whereas Morgan did the opposite. He'd just stopped asking her how she was.

Emily suddenly leaned in to him, interrupting his thoughts. He could smell the perfume she was wearing, vanilla; it was subtle and totally her. When her mouth lined up with his ear the feel of her breath sent shivers up his spine and he had to calm his racing heart.

She whispered into his ear, "I'm fine…"

He shot her a wry smile in response. He guessed that there wasn't much he could keep from her. She knew him well. He gave her knee a brief pat letting her know that he believed her.

He stared off around him instead of dwelling on his feelings for Emily—she was taken, end of story—when he caught sight of another wonder couple in the making, JJ and Hotch.

The two were in the midst of what seemed like an important conversation. Straining to hear, he heard little snippets of their conversation: Christmas, Jack, celebrate. He deduced that they were making Christmas plans together. He smiled happily for his good friend. He'd known for awhile what a great couple they would make. Rossi was only sorry that Will had to die for the pair to get the push they needed.

He continued to watch on as JJ inched closer and closer to Hotch. Rossi wanted someone else to witness the momentous moment, so he gave Emily a brief nudge and murmured into her ear, "Friends indeed…"

He looked back at the pair; JJ had just kissed Hotch on the cheek. It was quite an unexpected sight. Even surprising him; so he wasn't surprised when Emily exclaimed, "Did I just see what I thought I saw?"

He nodded once to assure her that, no, she was not hallucinating.

He'd meant it to be a private moment between him and Emily, but her exclamation had drawn the attention of Morgan.

"What? What did you see?"

And of course Emily would want to spread the joyous news around, so she leaned into her boyfriend to whisper in his ear.

It seemed that indeed the sight had been a shock because the next thing he knew Morgan was practically shouting, "No way!"

Much to his dismay, JJ and Hotch were now looking their way. They were like shy animals that'd gotten wind of predators in the area. If they suspected something was up they might back off. And that would not be ideal for either of them.

Luckily, Emily was quick to attempt to save the day. Rossi noticed her swift elbow to Morgan's side.

"Um…" Morgan started very slowly. "No way, you're umm… going to the Christmas party?"

_Way to go, Derek, _Dave thought, as he chuckled quietly.

But it seemed that the skittish pair bought it, they went back to their own conversation, leaving Emily and him to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Nice one Derek," Emily echoed Dave's sentiments. "It's not like everyone doesn't already know we're going together. Couldn't you come up with anything else?"

Rossi tried to hold back his chuckle. Now he knew why someone who looked like Derek Morgan did not have his name in lights. The guy couldn't act worth a dime.

"Come on," Derek protested, putting his hands up. "I was in shock, give me a break."

Rossi silently agreed with Derek. JJ giving a kiss to Hotch on a trip home from a case should have shocked everyone. But he'd seen this developing for awhile and he guessed so did Emily.

On a quick change of subjects that even caught him off guard, Emily was asking him a question that made him suddenly uncomfortable.

"Speaking of the party, did you two find dates yet?"

He took a second to answer. She didn't know that up until recently he hadn't intended on going at all. She also didn't know that he'd been dating Ariel steadily and logic said he'd be taking her. And the big thing that she did not know was that he was dying to be able to say, "I'm taking you, Emily, of course…"

Instead, he said, infusing as much indifference as possible into his words, "Don't worry about me; if worst comes to worse I'll ask one of my ex-wives."

Emily eyed him carefully for a moment, suspicion in her eyes, looking for a reason to worry. She cared for him after all and did not want to see him miserable. When she turned to look at Reid he knew that it was his name that should have been in lights, because he'd his true feelings well.

"How about you Reid?" she asked him.

He could definitely see that worry in her eyes for Reid. Little did she know that she really didn't have to worry about the kid.

"Nah, not yet," Reid answered, blushing profusely.

"Come on Reid, you told me you were going to ask that new Spanish agent," Derek commented.

Rossi was surprised with Derek; he wasn't as completely clueless as he thought. Though, he did get Agent Sayid's ethnicity completely wrong.

"You mean, Layla? Layla's actually of middle-eastern descent," Reid was quick to correct. "She was born in the U.S. but her parents are Lebanese. They immigrated here just before she was born—"

"Well," he spoke up, knowing they were in for a history lesson, "sounds like you've got her life story."

Everyone shared a chuckle.

"I hear she's as smart as you are, Reid, she could probably give you a run for your money," Morgan joked.

Emily noticing the ribbing at Reid's expense was quick to reassure him with a kind smile and matching words.

"Ask her Reid," she paused, doing a complete 180. "Before I tell Garcia, and you know what she'll do. She's not exactly shy, you know."

"Layla is pretty intelligent," he began, still hesitant. "Not to mention beautiful."

"That's it! You ask her the minute we land," Emily professed with a self satisfied smile.

Rossi was happy to see yet another member of his BAU family on the road to happiness. He couldn't be with Emily, it was clear, but at least she was happy with Morgan. That only left JJ and Hotch to put under the happy spell.

"Well, now that we're all pretty much paired up," he began without a hint of bitterness, he was proud to say, "What are we going to do about those two?"

They all turned to look at the unassuming pair. They were perfect for each other. He could see it, and he was sure his friends could too.

"We could set them up with people we know," Reid helpfully suggested.

Apparently they _all_ couldn't see it after all. Rossi shook his head. "No, I think I have a better idea."

Emily instantly grinned and he knew she was with him. "I think I like where you're going with this."

"Operation Hotch and JJ here we come," Derek named their plan.

For the rest of the flight they planned out how they were each going to encourage JJ and Hotch to take a blind date to the party. Even Garcia got in on the planning, her face appearing on the laptop screen between them. The plan was for the two to be in actuality each other's blind dates.

Simple, but hopefully effective. They'd just have to see.

* * *

"So you're going to get them to be each other's blind dates?" Ariel asked slowly.

After arriving home yesterday he'd called up Ariel to ask her to have breakfast with him that morning. This time he'd done the cooking. He'd been eager to share the plan the team had come up with to get JJ and Hotch together to see if Ariel had anything to add.

"Yeah," he answered. "Isn't it great?"

His smile faltered when she frowned. "Maybe…"

_Maybe? _He couldn't understand why she wasn't into it like he was. True, she didn't know them, but she had asked enough questions about his friends to know their life stories.

"Trust me," he assured. "It's going to work."

She got up to put her breakfast plate in the sink. "Ok," she said, turning back to face him. "But isn't JJ… isn't she the one that just lost her fiancé?"

"That was months ago," he replied, realizing a second later how insensitive he sounded when she flinched at his tone. "We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't think she was ready."

Ariel nodded her head, giving him a small smile, she sat back down. "All I'm saying is you need to be careful…"

He nodded solemnly, but on the inside he was beaming. Ariel wasn't Emily but she had her own good qualities to recommend her. And this empathy for someone she didn't know, well it touched him.

"What does Reid think about all this?" she asked nonchalantly as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Reid?" he said confused.

She nodded. "You said he was a doctor, right… he's got to be pretty smart… what does he think?"

He gave her a slight frown, not sure where Reid's name came from. "Well…" he started tentatively. "He's a doctor… but hardly the kind that's an expert in these matters…"

She shrugged, signalling to him that her question had been completely off-hand. But still something twinged inside of him; he couldn't put his finger on it, though.

"Oh well, I just thought someone smart… never mind," she brushed it off. "So, what are you doing today?"

Her cheery smile was infectious and he caught it right away. All the weird thoughts from before slipped from his mind as he told her his plans.

* * *

"But JJ, come on, just listen to us," Garcia pleaded. "He's a really great guy, I swear. And… he has a great butt."

JJ laughed out loud, and laughed harder when Emily threw Garcia a bewildered look. It was true, but Emily just couldn't believe Garcia had been sneaking peaks at her boss's firm derriere.

They'd cornered JJ when she'd gone to get her caffeine fix. They'd even followed her to her office when she refused their request the first time. They were standing outside of it trying their hardest to convince her. They weren't willing to take no for an answer.

"Sorry Garcia, but… I'm kind of already going with someone," JJ announced.

"What?" both Emily and Garcia exclaimed.

Well that changed things. What could they do if JJ already had a date?

"Hey guys," JJ interrupted their thoughts. "Look over there, Reid's getting himself a date."

And she had them there and JJ knew it as she began to walk away from them. Because Emily was curious to see how the youngest team member would fare and Garcia was as well.

So, instead of pestering their blonde friend for more information they followed their young friend instead.

* * *

Rossi and Morgan had been standing in the break-room when Garcia and Emily decided to corner JJ. From the sounds of their conversation start it didn't look like they were doing too great. Rossi was convinced that he and Morgan could do better.

He looked to Morgan, stirring his own cup of coffee and prompted, "So…"

"So?" Derek answered.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Should we participate in this crazy scheme?"

Derek raised an eyebrow at him. "You're the one who suggested it."

"Well… you're the one who named it," he shot back.

They were on the verge of arguing and he didn't know what about or even why. Luckily, Derek put a stop to it.

"I guess we're going to have to give it a go."

Rossi nodded, agreeing. "Ok, let's give it a shot."

The pair of them walked towards Hotch's office where he proceeded to knock on the door and enter without even so much as an invitation. Derek gave him a bit of a glare but poked his head inside nonetheless.

"Oh," Morgan exclaimed. "Are we interrupting?"

Curious, Rossi looked around him to see JJ sitting inside. She must have escaped the clutches of the girls.

"No," Hotch answered, actually smiling at JJ. "What is it?"

"Uh…" Rossi started slowly, thrown by that smile. "We wanted to talk to you about something. But we can come back later."

JJ stood up quickly. "Don't worry," she assured. "I was just leaving. Got lots of work to do."

Rossi continued to look on, completely bewildered, as JJ turned to give their Unit Chief a one-hundred watt smile and actually mouth the words 'Have fun.'

_What was going on here? _Looking at Morgan he knew his colleague was thinking the exact same thing.

The petite blonde made for the door and it did not go unnoticed by Rossi that Hotch watched her walk out of there. It wasn't until she was out of sight that Hotch gave them some attention.

"What can I do for you two?" Hotch asked professionally as he sifted through the files on his desk.

Rossi cleared his throat. "Hotch, we're not here about business."

That got his attention; he looked at them curiously. "Oh?"

"The team was just talking," Derek took over. "About the party… Hotch we've all got dates and we're worried about you."

There was a pause in the conversation as the three scrutinized each other. _Was that a slight upward curve to Hotch's lips?_ Rossi wondered. _Was he smirking?_ But whatever it was it was gone just as quick.

"Really… everyone has a date. Even Reid?" Hotch wondered.

"Yeah," Rossi answered proudly. "Just asked a fellow agent from the organized crime unit."

"Good for him. How about JJ?"

_Uh oh,_ he thought. They'd never discussed what they'd say if JJ came up.

"Uh… JJ," Morgan started, flustered. "Uh… yeah JJ, we're working on that."

Not very eloquent, but believable. It wasn't even a lie.

"You mean, you're going to set her up?" Hotch asked sternly. "Do you think that's wise? I mean, what if it goes horribly? What if it somehow affects her in a way that will jeopardize her grieving process? You need to be careful."

Rossi felt completely discouraged by the end of Hotch's rant. He was right of course. JJ was still in a delicate state. But he had to remind himself it was Hotch they were actually setting her up with and obviously he cared about her.

He shared a quick look with Derek to see if they were on the same page.

"Ah… ok, we'll keep that in mind…" Derek spoke up. "But Hotch we actually came to talk about you."

"Yeah," Rossi continued quickly. "We have a friend. She's young, beautiful, and very attractive. And exactly your type."

"Oh, you want to set me up?"

"Yeah," Derek answered, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Rossi felt the exact same. This conversation was getting away with them and he definitely wanted to rein it in.

"Sorry guys, I've already got a date," Hotch replied completely surprising them.

_What?_

"Ok…" Rossi said, drawing out the tiny word.

They both stood there in silence, not sure what else to say. This had never been considered as a possibility.

Hotch nodded to them and they realized he was waiting for them to leave.

"Ok then, we'll just be going," Derek said unsurely.

The pair of them backed slowly out of Hotch's office, sending Hotch a strange look. Shutting the door behind them, the pair shared a look.

"Well… that was awkward," Morgan said slowly.

"To say the least," Rossi agreed.

"What are we going to do?" Morgan asked expectantly of the older agent.

"Tell the girls and incur their wrath."

* * *

Well that's it. This chapter had some major overlap with Conflicted's chapters 5 and 6 and For You, Always' chapter 5. So, I hope you still enjoyed.

For some reason this chapter was extremely hard to write. And I'm not sure it came out sounding exactly right. Please let me know what you think!

On a completely other note, I've made a facebook page solely devoted to my fanfic persona. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to use it for other than to communicate with other authors out there. So, if you'd like to chat sometime about fanfiction, Criminal Minds or something else, you can find me under the name Rania Flames.

Thanks to those who reviewed: **canny-bairn; p95000; and kdzl. **

See you next week!


	9. The Party

**A/N:** Hey all! Get ready for a super long chapter! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 9: The Party:**

* * *

Rossi sat in one of Ariel's arm chairs, flipping through one of her magazines. Normally, he'd be at the point where he'd be itching to get out of his tuxedo, but tonight he was eager to get the show on the road.

There initial plan of getting JJ and Hotch to be each other's blind dates had flopped major when each revealed they had their own dates. But instead of throwing in the towel they regrouped and Reid gave them their new plan: date keep-a-way. Essentially, they were going to do their best to keep the pair from their respective dates and push them together every chance they could get. Dave was eager to get started.

"Sorry for taking so long," Ariel announced as she entered the living room.

Dave's eyes went wide as he stared at her from top to bottom and back again. She looked beautiful from the top of her red hair—done up in a sweeping design—down to her sandal clad feet—emerald green to match her green, strapless sheath dress with a knee high slit up the front of her leg. He forgot for a moment where he was as he stared down at that pale leg peaking out from under.

"Dave," Ariel laughed.

"Why don't we just stay home tonight?" he suggested, totally serious.

The laughter drained from her face and she was suddenly frowning at him. "No way Dave, do you know how much work I've put into getting ready for this. I had my hair done, my nails; I spent three hours—"

"Ok, ok," he cut her off, putting his hands up in defeat. "I was just kidding…"

He wasn't, but at least she was smiling again. And he guessed he could put his thoughts on hold until later tonight.

"Good," she said happily. "I can't wait to meet your friends… do you think they'll like me?"

He stood up to engulf her in a hug. "Honey," he said affectionately. "What's there not to like?"

* * *

Rossi still couldn't believe that he'd been the first to arrive from the team. He looked around the banquet room the Christmas party was being held in to see many faces but none that were his friends.

He let out a long-suffering sigh. The party seemed to be going exactly as he'd predicted completely boring. He didn't even have Ariel by his side to keep him company.

Rossi spotted his red-haired girlfriend across the room laughing along with Erin. He had to wonder if it was an ominous sign that Ariel seemed to hit it off with Erin so quickly. From the second he'd introduced her to the Section Chief it seemed apparent that these two would become friends. Then Erin had proceeded to borrow his girlfriend to introduce her to some friends. That was twenty minutes ago.

The vibrating in his pocket suddenly distracted him from his sulking. He pulled out his cell phone to see Garcia's name on the ID.

"Hello," he answered, but before he could question her as to why she was not there yet she got into a quick tirade.

"What the heck is a cell phone good for if you're just going to turn it off?" Garcia said by way of greeting. "I mean, come on people, get with the program."

He didn't get a chance to tell her that because he answered he clearly was with the program.

"Ok, so where is everyone?" she asked, this time pausing for an answer.

"I think I'm the only one here," he informed.

"Nah uh," Garcia denied. "Derek's SUV is in the parking lot. He and Emily should be there."

"_Garcia_, where are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just leaving my house, I'm waiting for Kevin to…" she trailed off, realizing she just gave herself away. "Ok, I _had_ to track them. This is way too important for us to mess up or be late!"

He had to chuckle at that.

"Ok, so I need you to get a message to Emily for me. Both their cell phones are off," she grumbled. "Tell Emily that JJ wants us to meet her outside in fifteen. Can you do that for me?"

"I think I've got it," Rossi mused.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, exhaling a breath he suspected she'd been holding for awhile. "And Rossi…"

"Yeah?"

"God help you if that message doe not get passed along," she finished menacingly.

He laughed, hanging up. His mood picking up, now that the fun was about to begin. He looked around the room and found Erin leading Ariel to yet another couple… _was that the Senator and his wife? _Well, she seemed to be having a good time, so he'd leave her to it.

Now, he was sure Emily and Derek weren't in the room. That must mean they're in the lobby. So, he headed out, politely nodding to people he knew along the way.

He found them out there all right, in the midst of a romantic moment it seemed. They were standing under an archway, a sprig of mistletoe above them. For some reason he frowned and found that his legs had begun the journey towards them. Instead of tearing himself in two, he went along with his body.

Reaching them just as their lips were about to touch he cleared his throat. They pulled apart reluctantly, each one staring at him like they were going to murder him. And suddenly he felt mean. He wasn't sure what had come over him.

"Rossi, man," Morgan said, not hiding his annoyance. "You are seriously cramping my style."

Rossi eyed them warily. "Yeah, well… sorry about that."

And he was sorry for his rudeness especially since Emily was shooting him a not so happy look.

"Garcia wanted me to let you guys know that JJ called," he informed, getting on with the purpose of the night.

Emily began to glance around her. "Where's Garcia?"

"She said she'll be here in a minute, with that guy, uh…"

"Kevin," Morgan offered.

"Yeah, and that both you're phones are off. That's why she called me," he explained. "JJ's going to be here in fifteen minutes. She wants you, Emily, and Garcia to meet her outside."

Emily pulled out her cell phone from her purse and switched it on. "Thanks for relaying the message."

"Ok, you're going to need your coat," Derek announced, giving Emily's shoulder a squeeze. "I'll go get it for you."

Dave observed the look she gave Derek, it was… loving. Something in the pit of his stomach twisted.

Derek walked away, leaving them to stand there alone.

"Well that was nice," Dave said, not being able to hold back the incredulity in his voice.

She turned to raise an eyebrow at him, completely catching his tone. "Derek _is_ a nice man," she stated, annoyed.

"I know that…" he let out a sigh at once again having to backtrack. "But, it's just more apparent now that you two are together. I think its all because of you. You bring out the best in people, Emily."

His statement was completely true. When he was around Emily Prentiss he felt bad for some of the things he said or thought. That's because he knew she would not approve.

It was just the facts, what he said, so he didn't expect her reaction: a bright smile, a "Thank you Dave," and the best part another kiss on the cheek.

He was in heaven suddenly, but he tried to keep his elation off his face.

"Uh…" she stuttered. "That was nice of you to say."

_Hmm… what else could he say to earn himself another kiss?_ But before he could say anything he heard Morgan's gruff voice say, "Here's your jacket Emily."

They turned towards the man; Derek instantly caught his eye in an intense stare as if he was trying to send him a telepathic message, saying, "Get the hell away from my woman."

Rossi held his gaze and sent his own message, "She keeps coming to me. Deal with it!"

"Um…I'm going to wait outside for Garcia and JJ," Emily said quickly, escaping.

It didn't matter; they were still locked in battle gaze.

Finally, Rossi let out a sigh; he knew Emily had left them to work out their differences. So, he'd try.

"Uh Derek," he started.

Derek's look changed to one of uncontained suspicion.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Derek answered with hostility. "I only just saw the woman I love kiss another guy."

"It was only a kiss on the cheek," he protested… and then it hit him. "Wait a minute… The woman you love?"

Rossi watched the younger man's face; by the look of wonder and realization this was news to him too.

"Yeah, I love her," Morgan answered after a minutes' deliberation, all hostility gone.

"Wow…" Rossi said in wonder. "You two are pretty serious then?"

"Yeah we are."

Rossi guessed it was truly time to give up on the fantasy that was Emily Prentiss. _Unless…_

"Has she said anything to you?" he pried.

The look of suspicion returned.

"Not yet," Morgan said, tight-lipped. "But I haven't told her yet, either. But I intend to remedy that tonight."

Rossi got his message loud and clear. "Back off!"

"Well…" he started with actual sincerity. "Good luck with that."

But he knew the man didn't need his luck, because unfortunately for Rossi, Derek Morgan was exactly who Emily Prentiss wanted.

"Uh… thanks," Derek answered, clearly confused by Rossi's apparent mood swings.

"I'm going to find Reid," Rossi announced, seeing that Ariel was still occupied. "Make sure he still has his date; maybe give him a few pointers."

And then he walked away.

* * *

Hotch got out of the SUV that he'd shared with JJ to get to the party. He gave her a little wave as he trucked it through the well lit parking lot. They had a plan, him and JJ, and it was to get his team and good. While they were on the plane scheming he and JJ were listening in. They didn't hear everything but they got the gist of it. They were supposed to be each other's blind dates. While they both like the idea of going to the party together—Hotch actually more than liked it—they resented the fact that the team thought they needed help. So here was part one of their plan, arrive at the party 'separately.'

So, as he made his way to the entrance there were Garcia and Emily waiting outside for their fellow blonde friend.

"Hey Hotch," Emily greeted.

"Boss-man, where's the date?" Garcia demanded.

Hotch had to keep his grin at bay and only gave them a smile. "She's actually already here. I'm supposed to meet her inside. Find me later so I can introduce you."

The girls nodded.

"What are you two doing out here?"

"Meeting JJ," Emily answered.

"She's supposed to be here already," Garcia lamented. "Did you see her in the parking lot?"

"No, sorry," he said simply "See you inside."

Instead of heading inside and directly finding his friends, he decided to mingle for a bit. It was when he headed for the refreshment table that he encountered his first schemer.

"Hotch, man," Morgan greeted. "What are you doing here alone?"

"I could ask you the same question," he mused.

"My girl's waiting outside for JJ," Morgan explained.

"Your girl?" Hotch questioned. "I'm guessing you wouldn't want Emily to find out about that particular endearment. I won't mention it."

"Please don't," Morgan pleaded.

Hotch laughed. "I'm kidding Derek…" He let that sink in, seeing the relief on his face. "My date's meeting me here. She should be here in a few minutes."

"Cool," Morgan said. "Mind if I wait with you at least until Emily gets back?"

"Go right ahead."

They stood there in silence for a bit. Hotch could tell there was more on the man's mind then just their plan. So if it wasn't the plan, then…

"So, you and Emily… how's that going?" Hotch asked awkwardly.

He wouldn't even be delving into this if he didn't know that Morgan was eager to talk.

"It's going really good," Derek answered.

Hotch deduced it was the truth. He was about to ask why the long face when said long face landed on Rossi. He was in the other end of the room standing close to a pretty red-head.

"Uh… you knew Rossi back in the day. What was he like?" Derek asked, unexpectedly.

_Uh oh,_ Hotch thought, eyeing Dave carefully. _What did you do now, Dave?_

"Well…" Hotch started awkwardly. "He was pretty much the same as he is now. Driven is a good word to describe him then and now. Why?"

"I heard he had a streak with womanizing."

"Well…" Hotch stalled.

_Yes, he was the very definition of Italian, Stallion. _He couldn't say that, though.

"I don't really like to talk about my co-workers personal lives. But that was mostly a rumour."

"Mostly?"

"Well… I know he went out with a few women in the bureau. Usually it ended quickly…"

… _and publicly, and loudly…_

"One actually ended up being his first wife, I think," he added.

"I see," Derek nodded solemnly.

"Why the sudden interest in David Rossi's personal life?" Hotch asked curiously.

"Uh… no reason. Just curious…"

With the way he was staring down Rossi who'd just joined Reid, it was more like no reason, my ass.

"Did he ever go after a woman already attached to someone else?" Morgan surprised him by asking.

"Derek, what's up?" Hotch asked, no-nonsense.

"Nothing, nothing, never mind. Forget I asked," he backtracked.

As he watched Rossi chat it up with Reid and his date, he remembered something.

"There was one…"

* * *

Dave was listening to a couple that Ariel had introduced him to, truthfully he had no idea who they were. All he knew was that they were very boring. He tried to follow what they were saying but nothing was sticking.

"Rossi," he heard his name being called.

He turned around, not bothering to excuse himself from the boring conversation. Rude, yes, but it should have been considered even ruder to be so boring.

"Reid," Rossi exclaimed happily. "Hey kid."

Reid, dressed in a tux of his own, blushed slightly at his greeting. Looking at his side he could see the reason fro his blush. Standing there, looking stunning in a deep red, strapless gown was Agent Layla Sayid.

Rossi smiled brightly at the woman. "Agent Sayid, good to see you again."

"Call me Layla, please," she said politely.

"Layla," he agreed. "How do you like the party? Reid treating you right? No statistics tonight, Reid."

He couldn't resist teasing the young genius.

"Oh no, Spencer is being the perfect gentleman," Layla confirmed.

Rossi noticed how Layla took Reid's hand in her own as she said this, surprising Reid a bit. Rossi was pleased; it seemed Reid had found a good thing.

"Are you here with someone?" Reid asked.

"Yeah," Rossi said simply. He turned around to see Ariel watching him, but still listening to the boring couple. He gave a little twitch of his head, indicating for her to come over. She caught it. "She's coming over."

They watched her finish up her conversation. She was smiling brightly as she came over.

"Dave?" she questioned.

"Ariel Kingston," he introduced putting his arm around Ariel's bare shoulders. "This is Dr. Spencer Reid and Agent Layla Sayid. Reid, Layla this is Ariel my girlfriend."

Ariel eagerly put out her hand to shake each in turn. "It is so good to meet you both," she said graciously. Then she focused her attention on Reid. "Dr. Reid—"

"Call me Reid," Reid stated embarrassingly.

Layla laughed. "I try to tell him that it's ok for people to call him doctor…"

"It's weird…" Reid denied.

"It's an accomplishment, I read some of your early papers that you published when you were only 15, you're absolutely brilliant," Ariel exclaimed.

Reid blushed visibly. Rossi looked on astonished. He knew Ariel had been eager to meet his team, but he'd had no idea that she'd done any research on any of them. He was frowning inwardly and he didn't know exactly why.

"I'd love to discuss them with you later if you get a minute," Ariel continued. "That is if it's ok with you Layla."

Layla looked a bit on the bewildered side, a common look for anyone who met Ariel for the first time.

"Uh sure… if Spencer is ok with it," Layla answered.

For some reason he wasn't all that comfortable with this conversation. He looked across the room and saw Morgan was now accompanied by Hotch and Kevin.

"Look, Hotch is here," Rossi interrupted. "Let's go meet his date."

They walked over and made the introductions for Layla and Ariel. This time Ariel was more demure and Rossi noticed the obvious difference between her meeting of Reid and that of Morgan and Hotch. He knew something was up, but didn't know what.

"So Hotch," Rossi began subtly. "Isn't there someone missing from this picture?"

"She's around," Hotch answered vaguely.

Rossi exchanged suspicious looks with Morgan and Reid.

"Ok," Rossi bought it. "Tell us about her…"

"Oh look," Kevin interrupted. "Here comes Penelope and Emily."

They all turned towards them expecting to see JJ and her date with them. But they were all alone.

"She's coming," Garcia assured. "Should be inside in a minute."

"She said her date was somewhere inside," Emily finished.

They all paused and unabashedly eyed every single lone male in the room. Rossi knew that the majority of the group were measuring them against Hotch. The all failed in Rossi's eyes.

"Hotch!" Garcia exclaimed. They all turned to look at her. "Where's your date? I thought she was already here. Don't tell me she stood you up?"

Garcia looked ready to burst and Hotch's answer didn't seem to calm her.

"No," he said simply. "In fact, here she comes."

Everyone looked at Hotch to follow his gaze. Rossi saw JJ in his direct line of sight and it hit him.

"Son of a…" he murmured, amused.

He knew the others were still trying to put it together as they stared back and forth between Hotch and JJ.

Finally, JJ was before them, looking beautiful in a navy blue, one-shoulder strapped dress. Rossi watched Hotch take her in and knew Hotch was smitten.

"Hey JJ," Hotch greeted, not hiding the hint of amusement in his eyes. "Thanks for coming."

JJ beamed back at him. And Rossi knew that JJ felt the same. He was so happy for his old friend.

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world," JJ answered, going to Hotch's side.

They looked at their friends expectantly.

"You two—" Emily started, disbelievingly.

"What's—" Rossi attempted.

"No way!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Ok, what the heck guys?" Garcia demanded.

Reid put his hand up to interject. "I believe that Hotch and JJ—"

"Nope," Garcia shut the genius down. "I want to hear it from them."

Reid's face fell and he moved back next to Layla.

They all were surprised when the couple just burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry guys," JJ apologized. "We couldn't resist."

"You guys were trying to be so quiet on the plane. But you weren't," Hotch informed.

"You _heard_ us planning," Rossi realized.

"We're sorry guys, really, but we heard and we decided to have a little fun," JJ explained.

"Man that was fun," Hotch said uncharacteristically. "Wasn't it?"

JJ nodded, seemingly on the verge of laughing again. Rossi was all for them enjoying themselves, but not at the expense of them.

"So all this was to…" Emily started unsurely. "…get revenge on us?"

"No… not all of it," JJ answered.

"We did actually think it was a good idea for us to come together," Hotch assured them.

JJ laughed. "We just wanted to do it our way."

They looked at them unsurely, attempting to take it all in.

"We're going to give you time to process," Hotch said, rightly. "JJ would you care to dance?"

"Love too."

They walked away, holding hands.

"I can't believe them," Garcia murmured.

Rossi could and he was happy for them.

* * *

Well I hoped you enjoyed!

Thanks for the reviews: **SunnyInOregon; p95000; and kdzl.**


	10. Fight

**A/N:** Hello all! So, I've been having some major writer's block with my CM stories, except for this one. I feel like this story writes itself, it's nice. Anyways here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 10: Fight:**

* * *

Rossi, his arms around Ariel as they swayed to the slow music together, had to chuckle at JJ and Hotch, who also happened to be dancing. They had fooled the team and good. And it served the team right. Ariel had been right with her misgivings about their plan. JJ and Hotch were adults and they obviously needed no help from their friends. He watched a little more as JJ tightened her arms around Hotch's neck and laughed at something the Unit Chief said.

"They do make a cute couple," Ariel commented.

"Hmm…" Rossi said distractedly.

"JJ and Hotch," Ariel clarified. "I like them, they seem nice."

"Yeah," Rossi said off-handed. He was still a little miffed at her for her earlier revelation that she'd researched some of Reid's articles.

"All of them seem pretty nice," Ariel continued, oblivious to his mood. "Especially, Dr. Reid. He seems sweet."

Alarm bells went off again. "You seem to have a big fascination with the kid…"

He pulled away from her a bit to gauge her reaction to his statement.

She laughed. "Oh Dave, don't worry, he's pretty and all, but so not my type. Besides, I think Layla's got him locked down."

She pulled him back close, dismissing his strangeness. She seemed genuine in her answer. She definitely wasn't lying. Maybe his instincts were going off for nothing. She sure was acting normally, happy, energetic. Maybe he was just making a big deal over nothing.

He let himself be pulled closed.

"Reid better not be your type, cause there's no way I can grow my hair out," he joked, easing his own tension.

She laughed. And they went back to silently enjoying the music, swaying together.

He spared a quick glance at his friends, hoping they'd finally decided to enjoy themselves instead of continuing to pout over JJ and Hotch's double crossing. And sure enough he saw Emily pull Derek towards the dance floor.

_Good for you, Emily…_

He continued to watch Emily put her arms around Derek's neck, while his went around her waist. They weren't too far away from him and Ariel. They seemed in the middle of a very romantic moment and he had to turn away.

Letting out a sigh, he supposed this was the moment they'd confess their love for each other.

"Everything ok, Dave?" Ariel suddenly asked him.

He gave her a small smile. "Perfect," he answered, managing to hold back the bitterness.

"I… I am just so glad…" he suddenly heard Emily's tentative voice. He looked up to see that the other couple, unbeknownst to them, had swayed dangerously close to them, "…that … that you pulled me onto that dance floor four months ago."

Morgan chuckled lightly. He placed a kiss on Emily's forehead. That was it for Rossi. It was more than enough to know that they loved each other. He did not need to hear them profess their undying love, too.

_Yes, he was happy for them._ But if he stayed there a second longer he would begin to gag and there would be no covering that up.

"Ariel," he said in a quiet, unobtrusive voice. "Let's get something to drink."

"Oh," Ariel said in surprise. "Ok."

They left the happy couples to their happiness and headed straight for the bar. Rossi needed something strong and fast.

* * *

The night was winding down when Rossi, Reid and Morgan cornered Hotch at the refreshment table. He seemed to be in a hurry, probably didn't want to leave JJ alone for too long. He didn't have to worry, they'd sent Emily and Penelope to keep her company and get some info.

"Man Hotch, you played us, and good," Morgan said, a little in awe, a little in disbelief.

"Even had Reid fooled until the last second," Rossi said, fresh off his glass of vodka.

"Not fair," Reid protested. "I was distracted."

The three men watched as he turned to smile shyly at Layla, nearby chatting with Ariel.

"Sorry guys, like we said before we couldn't resist," Hotch explained.

Morgan patted Hotch on the shoulder. "We don't care about that anymore. We're just happy you two are finally together."

"Oh, we're not," Hotch surprised them by saying.

"What do you mean?" Rossi asked his friend incredulously. "Did you not ask her to the party? Did she not say yes? And is she not here with you right now?"

"Ok, Dave, one too many questions… Yes, I asked her and she's here. But it was partly out of the plan and partly because we're good friends."

They all looked at Hotch incredulously.

"Are you kidding me?" Morgan exclaimed.

Hotch shook his head in answer.

"Hotch," Reid implored. "You know how good I am with the ladies and even I can see you're missing the ball on this one."

"I don't know what to tell you guys," Hotch said, clearly uncomfortable.

Rossi, clearly peeved by Hotch's nonchalance, demanded, "Tell us you have feelings for her. And don't lie; we're profilers, we'll know."

"This isn't about me guys," he paused to let out a sigh. "This is about JJ. Something bad happened to her. The guy she loved died and now she has to raise her son by herself. I don't want to complicate things further for her."

"Ok, we'll take that as a yes," Rossi stated

"Hotch, I'm pretty sure JJ would welcome your kind of complication," Morgan assured.

"We can tell," Reid added with certainty.

"Thanks guys, really," Hotch said sarcastically, "For your input, but JJ's waiting for me so I've got to go."

They stood there watching him hurry just as much to get away from them as to get back to JJ.

"You think he got the message?" Morgan questioned.

"Depends," Rossi said wryly. "Did anyone smack him upside the head while I wasn't looking?"

"I—" Reid started.

"Rhetorical question, Reid," Rossi cut him off.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens," Morgan commented.

"I guess so," Rossi agreed. "I hate waiting."

* * *

Rossi was tuckered out. It had been a long and eventful night. And if next years Bureau Christmas party promised to be this good he'd definitely be partaking in the festivities.

He glanced around for Ariel. He'd just finished saying good night to JJ and Hotch—they seemed closer than ever before—and really wanted to be the next to go.

Walking around, he still could not spot her. He did see Garcia, Kevin and Layla huddled together talking, thought, so he decided to join them mid-conversation.

"Oh and he likes Beethoven," Garcia exclaimed happily. "Doesn't listen to anything else."

Layla nodded taking it in.

"And," Kevin took over. "His favourite show is Doctor Who."

"Really?" Layla exclaimed. "Mine too."

"Eww… I can't stand watching those surgery shows," Garcia protested.

Layla and Kevin shared a laugh at the expense of a confused Penelope. Even Rossi knew about the time and space travelling alien who called himself the Doctor, he used to watch it when he was a kid.

"Agent Rossi," Kevin said in sudden recognition.

"Hi Kevin," Rossi briefly greeted the man who once came to speak to him about Penelope's honour. "Have you guys seen Ariel? I'd like to get going."

"She's around here somewhere," Layla offered. "She asked if Spencer had a few minutes to talk."

"Oh," Rossi said in surprise. He hadn't really thought she was serious about that. "Ok, thanks."

He left them and they resumed their previous conversation.

He continued to look around when he finally spotted her, once again, at Erin's side. He started to make his way over to them when he suddenly got blocked off.

"Reid," he said in some surprise.

"Hey Rossi," Reid greeted. "I just had an interesting conversation with Ariel."

He'd been ready to brush him off, he was that tired, but now he clung to his every word.

"Yeah," Rossi stated, neutrally. "Ariel's an interesting lady."

Reid nodded. "When you introduced us, you didn't tell us she was in publishing…"

The alarm bells were now that of a 4-alarm house fire.

"Uh yeah… she is; she's an editor," Rossi said tentatively.

"And an aspiring author," Reid added.

"What?" Rossi exclaimed loudly. This was news to him.

Reid gave him a strange look, not sure what he said that earned him that loud outburst. He continued on, anyways. "She wants to write a book… about me. Well, not really about me, but about people like me… I said I wasn't sure. You know with my mom's health and all, that's no one's business but mine. But she says she wants to focus it on what it was like growing up with my IQ."

Rossi was seeing red. _She wanted to write a book about one of his team members! Was that all their relationship was about, having a chance at a grown up, child-prodigy?_

"I don't know… I kind of like her ideas…" Reid continued, oblivious. "Maybe my story can help other kids like me?"

Rossi couldn't hear anymore. One more second and he would let out his fury. And Reid did not deserve to be on the receiving end. The kid was too innocent to realize he was being played.

"That's good," he said dismissively. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to have a word with my date."

* * *

Dave watched Ariel open the door and step inside her apartment. He followed her inside, letting the door slam shut behind him.

She whirled around on him, looking angry. That was ok; he could match her anger, for sure.

"Now," she started tersely. "Are you going to tell me why you made us leave suddenly like that? I thought for a minute you were going to pick me up and throw me over your shoulder, caveman style."

He paced a bit, silently fuming, trying to get a hold of his anger.

"Erin thought—" Ariel attempted.

"Screw Erin!" Rossi shouted. Ariel visibly flinched, so he shut his mouth quickly.

"Dave," Ariel said, voice seething with anger. "What the hell?"

He stopped pacing to face her. "I could ask you the same question, Ariel," Rossi demanded.

She shook her head. "I honestly don't know what you mean, Dave. And frankly you're scaring me a bit."

"I'm scaring you?" he shouted. "You're the one who scares me with your two-facedness. Seriously, Ariel, dating me just so you can get close enough to Reid and write a story on him?"

Ariel's face visibly paled. But he didn't care, as far as he was concerned Ariel was the exact same bitch from years ago. _No, she hadn't really changed. She'd just gotten sneakier._

"Dave, it's not how you think—"

"Save it," Rossi said hostilely. "I don't want to hear it. I couldn't trust you five years ago. And I'm a moron for trusting you now."

"Dave, please let me explain," Ariel pleaded.

"Answer me this, first. Did you or did you not plan on writing a book about Reid?"

"I did, but—"

"No," he said with finality. He had to turn away from her teary face. It was all an act anyways. "I can't believe I fell for you again! And again you betray me. I'm the idiot here, though. You can't help yourself; you'll always be a two-faced, sorry excuse for a woman. But I've got no excuse for my idiocy."

"Dave—"

"We're through, Ariel," Rossi finished. He stormed for the door and turned back to see she'd lowered herself to the couch, sobbing. "Have a nice life."

* * *

Well that's if for now. Is this the end of Ariel? We'll see. More fun to come soon!

Thanks to my two reviewers: **canny-bairn and p95000.**

_Oh and just a little extra note. Some of us fanfiction authors are now of facebook. So, if you ever feel like talking about fanfiction or anything else you can find me under the name of Rania Flames._


	11. Christmas

**A/N:** Hello. Just wanted to mention one thing before the chapter, I'm thinking of doing one more for this series, this time with Reid as the center character. If you'd like to see this, I've got a poll up on my profile. You can let me know that way, or through a review or a pm. Any way is good. Thanks!

This chapter coincides with chapter 8 of For You, Always and chapter 8 of Conflicted.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 11: Christmas:**

* * *

"Yeah Reid… no… its fine," Rossi spoke into his phone as he stared into his mirror. "Look, can we drop it… ok, thanks… I'll see you at JJ's, bye."

Rossi hung up, letting out a frustrated sigh as he threw his cordless phone onto his bed. He turned back to the mirror, brushing his fingers through his thick, dark hair. He just wanted to forget his conversation with Reid. But he couldn't. The phone call and the events of the past two days were fresh in his mind.

Reid wanted to make sure everything was all right between him and Ariel. He'd felt that there had been some tension between the couple and for some reason the kid believed it was because of him.

Tension was putting it mildly. He hadn't meant to go full out angry at Ariel, but she was messing with his friends, his family, and Rossi felt the need to protect Reid. It didn't seem to matter, though, because according to Reid, just now, he was still going to cooperate with Ariel's book.

Rossi grabbed his wallet and keys and headed down to his car. Even after calming down, his thoughts were still full of betrayal.

_Did Ariel set out to date him just to get at Reid? Did she ever care about him? Was he wrong to feel betrayed? Should he have given Ariel a chance to explain? Why had he even fallen for her in the first place?_

The last question plagued him most. And it was the one that he didn't even want to dwell on, because he knew it came with some uncomfortable answers.

He would be glad for tonight's distraction. JJ had invited the entire team over for a Christmas Eve dinner. He suspected it was partly to do with wanting her friends over, and partly an excuse to have Hotch near her.

Either way… he let out a happy sigh, glad that his friend was finally getting the happiness he deserved.

* * *

Rossi stood at JJ's front door, waiting for someone to answer. From the looks of the cars parked in front of her house, he was probably one of the first to arrive. He did see Hotch's car, though, and he was happy to proclaim that operation Hotch/JJ was a success.

The door opened a second later to a woman he didn't know really, but recognized as JJ's mother. Even if he didn't know who she was, he'd still be able to tell; they had the same bright blue eyes.

"Hello," he greeted. "I'm David Rossi."

"Amy Jareau," JJ's mother returned. She gave him a sudden grin. "Well, my daughter's sure got it good…"

"Excuse me?" Rossi choked out, ready to laugh.

"Every one of you is so good-looking," Amy pronounced, nonchalantly. "I'm not sure how my daughter gets her work done."

"Mom!"

They both turned to see an outraged JJ, followed by a grinning Hotch carrying baby Henry.

"What dear? I was only commenting on how unnaturally good looking you all are," Amy said, shrugging.

"Please don't," JJ cringed.

Rossi let out a chuckle as Amy walked away, clearly not heeding any of JJ's concerns.

"Merry Christmas, you two," Rossi greeted his friends, and then stepped up to Hotch with Henry. He took Henry's little hand and gave it a little shake. "And to you, too."

Henry giggled happily.

Rossi stepped back to examine the trio. They looked like the happiest little family around. All that was missing was Jack and some rings on their fingers.

"Sorry about my mom," JJ apologized. "She attacked Aaron when she first met him too."

"Attacked is a little extreme, JJ, more like gently abused…"

They laughed and Rossi had to raise an eyebrow at JJ's sudden use of Hotch's first name and the entire exchange. How they could deny they were anything but friends was beyond him.

"Come on inside, Dave," JJ said quickly. "Just to warn you though, Will's mom, Helen, is here, and she's exactly like my mom."

He quite enjoyed Amy Jareau's playfulness, but he played along nonetheless, "Duly noted."

* * *

Rossi looked around the table, considering each of his friends. They were in the middle of the holiday feast and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. He was sitting with Layla on his right and Garcia on his left, with their significant other's on either side of them. JJ had the honours of the head of the table, and Hotch was close by on her left.

Everyone was so happy, so together, so coupled up that his heart suddenly hurt. He didn't have that. And he didn't think he ever did or ever would. The only woman that he thought he could ever possibly feel that way with was sitting across the table with the man he knew she loved. _He could never interfere with that, could he? _

_He could make her happy, too,_ he suddenly thought.

There was no doubt in his mind about that.

_In fact, what was there to say that he couldn't make her even happier than Morgan did? _

He was tired of thinking that just because Emily and Morgan were dating that she was suddenly off limits to him. They weren't married yet. And even if they were the old Dave wouldn't let that stop him.

"Dave," he heard his name being uttered gently.

He turned to his right to see Layla watching him with concern. He'd had a chance to speak with her at the Christmas Party; she was genuinely a sweet, caring girl, perfect for Reid.

"Yes?" he asked politely, glad for a chance to be brought out of his traitorous thoughts.

"Just checking if you're all right," she said, pausing to lean in closer to him. "I know… I mean I could tell that Ariel's request of Spencer upset you."

_Sweet, caring, and perceptive too._

"Yeah," he confessed. "She kind of blindsided me."

Layla nodded. "For what it's worth, I don't think she's got an ulterior motive…"

The problem was, Ariel not telling him her plans right off made them seem ulterior enough.

"Don't worry about it," Rossi assured her. "We're… uh, not together anymore."

"Oh," she said in some surprise. She paused for a minute and then came back with a comment that surprised him. "I'm sure you can find someone else who will be honest with you."

She smiled at him and he returned it awkwardly. "Thanks!"

Thankfully, Reid regained her attention and he was free to people watch again. Probably the only safe thing for him to do when he felt so torn.

He didn't look in Emily and Morgan's direction, afraid the rebellious thoughts would return. Instead, he glanced in the head table's direction.

He watched on as JJ watched Hotch attempt to feed Henry, who was sitting between them in his highchair. It was clear he wasn't having much success; most of the food was ending up on either Henry or Hotch. JJ seemed to find this amusing, laughing out loud. The whole table suddenly seemed transfixed by the trio because Rossi could suddenly hear the pair's conversation.

"Oh, so you think you can do better?" Hotch joked.

It was good to hear him so light hearted; it put a smile on many of their faces.

"Of course," JJ replied primly.

They continued to watch on as JJ took the plate of food and effortlessly fed her son. Hotch proclaimed his awe at her abilities. He offered to clean up Henry and everyone watched shamelessly as JJ's gaze followed Hotch until he was out of sight.

When JJ turned back to the table, she suddenly realized how quiet it had gotten. No one averted their gazes, and just stared.

"What?" she asked, slightly defensively.

That seemed to snap the group out of their trance, returning to their conversations.

* * *

Christmas day was not what it used to be. When Dave was a kid, surrounded by his mom and dad, and older brothers, it had been what he'd look forward to every year, a time of magic. In his adult years, the one or two he'd spent with each of his three wives had made him feel like all Christmas was was a chore. And now, alone as he was, and not overly religious, Christmas had become just another day, except with presents.

But considering all his feelings on the day, he still had a smile on his face that morning, because this year he felt he had a present worth giving. And he was on his way to give it.

He glanced over to the passenger seat where the little box, wrapped in festive green Christmas tree wrapping paper sat. Inside the box sat a carefully wrapped crystal figure in the shape of a leopard. It was pretty and decorative but that wasn't why he'd purchased it.

When he'd seen it in a store he was in it had instantly reminded him of a conversation they'd had long before Emily had been dating Derek. He remembered it now vividly…

_%1%_

_He watched, amused as Emily knocked back yet another tequila shot. He leaned forward, getting quite close, to mock inspect her pupils._

"_How are you not drunk yet?" he joked._

_He himself was on his second drink, not planning on a third. He'd learned the hard way that it paid to stay completely lucid around Emily Prentiss when one night she'd coerced him into telling a particularly embarrassing college story involving panty hose…_

"_I'm just not," she said a bit loudly, indicating that maybe she was just a little._

"_Sure, sure," he said, his tone conveying his disbelief._

"_Pfft… whatever," she brushed it off. "Let's play a game…"_

_They'd decided on going out for drinks after a case in Cleveland where some psycho was copying the methods of famous serial killers with each kill. He was thankful Emily had insisted they go out; it kept his mind off of Zoe. And he had a suspicious feeling that this had been her intent._

"_Ok," he agreed cautiously, wondering if this was another ploy to get a story out of him. He vowed the incident with the Barbie dolls would go to his grave with him…_

"_It's called, 'what's your favourite?'" she announced._

_He had a feeling she'd made that up on the spot, but nodded for her to go on._

"_Ok," she said, picking up another shot. "What's your favourite… color?"_

"_Maroon," he answered easily. He was surprised when she burst out laughing. "What?" he said a bit defensively._

"_Maroon?" Emily scoffed. "Really?"_

"_Yes, really. It's not quite purple, not quite brown, and not quite red, it's like three colors in one," he explained; she went quiet but still had a smirk on her face. "What's yours?"_

"_Blue," she said simply, shrugging at his amused expression. "Your turn."_

"_All right," he started. "What's your favourite… animal?"_

"_Hmm…" she said, considering. "Leopard."_

_Interesting, and unconventional. "How come?"_

"_Because…" She blew out a breath when she realized he was waiting for an elaboration. "It's strong, and fast, it can take anything. But with its spots, it can camouflage itself if it wanted to. I like that. It's got options."_

_He chuckled at her long answer. "Mine's a dog. Your turn."_

_She smiled. "Umm… what's your favourite position—" She stopped abruptly, letting that sit for a second. When his eyes widened, she laughingly added, "—to sleep in?"_

"_Uh… back," he told her, clearing his throat. "You?"_

"_Stomach," she said._

_This game was all well and good for getting to know random facts about each other, but he wanted to up the ante._

"_From what you can remember, what was your favourite…" he paused. "…kiss?"_

_It was her turn to have her eyes widen in surprise._

"_Pass," she said, blushing._

"_Uh uh," Rossi denied. "That's not in the rules."_

"_We didn't set up any rules," she protested._

"_I'm doing it now, no passing," he said, smugly._

_She gave him a glare, but seemed to be considering it. "It was just a kiss on the cheek…"_

"_Really?" he said, surprised. "By who?"_

_She shook her head. He felt that she usually didn't hold anything back in their talks. It said a lot that she was keeping this to herself._

"_Can I ask why it was so special?"_

_She smiled, looking down as if lost in the memory. Her cheeks were tinged pink when she nodded._

"_It was so completely unexpected and came at a time when I needed it most," she explained vaguely. "I was a teenager, and I felt so lost. I had no idea what to do, and I felt so alone. _

_"He gave me the kiss and said he'd be there for me no matter what."_

%1%

Looking back on that memory now, he knew it must have been from Matthew. How ironic that she had been thinking about him only months before he'd passed on.

Rossi was grateful that she'd felt comfortable enough sharing even that little bit of a painful, yet happy, memory. And that was why he'd bought the leopard, to let her know he remembered, that he listened, and that he cared.

Finally, he arrived at her apartment building. It was early morning and he was hoping he'd be able to take her out for breakfast. He took the elevator to her floor and found her apartment easily, having been there a few times before.

He knocked and waited.

And then knocked again. He could hear some scuffling inside. Emily was home. It took a minute before the door opened to reveal a flush looking Emily.

"Dave!" she exclaimed in surprise.

He smiled brightly at the sight of her, in a clingy, v-neck, red sweater, and a body hugging, black skirt. "Hi Emily," he greeted. "Merry Christmas."

Her surprised look turned to a warm smile. "Merry Christmas to you, too."

"I was just in the neighbourhood," he paused. "And I thought I'd drop off your Christmas present."

Nope, he wasn't just in the neighbourhood, he'd set out for her, set his sights on her.

He held the little box out to her. He watched her mouth form an 'O' in surprise, which was followed by, "Aw Dave, you know you didn't have to."

Her reaction was so heartfelt that it warmed him.

"I wanted to," he assured. "I was also wondering if you were free for breakfast."

Her face fell at that. "Oh… uh…I'm kind of not alone."

Emily didn't have to step aside to show him Derek sprawled on the floor next to the tree. He could have guessed. And by the look of his clothing, all in disarray, he could guess at what they were doing before he'd got there.

It was hard to hide his disappointment.

"Oh, Merry Christmas, Derek."

"Yeah, you too, Rossi," Derek replied not so sincerely.

_Well, the feelings mutual bud…_

"Would you like to come in?" Emily asked quickly, as if to alleviate the sudden tension.

Rossi gave Morgan a curious look as the man gave him a hard stare in return—it was like he was saying, 'Say yes, try me, just try me'— and then turned his attention back to Emily.

"No," he answered, bluntly, and then softened his tone for her. "It's ok. It looks like you're… busy."

Rossi watched Emily send a disapproving look at Derek. He would have been amused if he wasn't so irritated with him.

"Ok… Well then… I have a present for you too. One second…"

He watched her walk towards Derek and the tree, bend down to grab a medium sized box, all the while glaring at Derek. When she turned back to him she was all smiles. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Here you go," she said cheerfully. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will. Merry Christmas you two." He added a light teasing inflection to his tone that was meant to further irritate the man.

Childish yes, but hey it was Christmas the one time of the year that you could feel like a kid again.

"Merry Christmas," Derek said shortly.

He gave Emily one last wave and then turned to go. She shut the door and he paused in his step. _That was fun,_ he thought to himself.

Dave walked down to his car almost feeling the same as he had when he was a kid. He turned on his car, but didn't move. Instead, he decided to rip open Emily's present.

Pulling back the tissue paper he found a fancy, button up shirt and tie combo. The color: maroon.

* * *

Well that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thanks to everyone who's reading. And thanks to my 3 reviewers: **p95000; kdzl** (_thanks so much. I just felt there was way too much story for just one);_ **and anonymous.**

I'll try to update soon!


	12. Malika

**A/N:** Hey. Sorry for the wait on this update. This chapter was a bit hard to write because I wanted it to come out perfect, so I purposefully took my time with it. The end result is a super long chapter; a set up chapter for things to come. I really hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 12: Malika:**

* * *

Rossi was walking down the street feeling slightly dejected. It was the holidays and for once the BAU was on standby only. Rare, but it could have to do with the fact that Hotch was spending the festive occasion with JJ and Henry.

He let out a sigh, passing by a bar he'd went to with Emily recently. She was out of town at the moment. With Derek. And it was killing him because he missed her a lot.

The holidays had started off so well. He'd had Ariel. They were happy. They'd gotten JJ and Hotch together successfully. And then it all went to hell.

Ariel had just been using him to get to Reid. Emily and Morgan had confessed their love for each other. And he was alone. Christmas was turning into a dud this year.

He was on his way to work to get some paperwork done. It was going to be an utterly boring day, made even duller without the presence of Emily to cheer him up.

He finally reached the Bureau and stepped inside the building. He made his way to the elevators, eager to get the day done and over with.

Once inside, he heard a familiar voice yell, "Hold the elevator, please!"

Being polite, he pushed the open door button. Finally, an out of breath Layla rushed in.

"Agent Rossi," she said breathlessly. She shot him a cheerful smile.

He smiled back at the young agent. "You can call me Dave at work, Layla," he assured, chuckling when she blushed.

"Dave," she said tentatively.

He shrugged. She had showed concern for him at the Christmas Eve dinner; as far as he was concerned she was a friend.

"How are you?" Layla asked, a hint of her previous concern in her voice.

"I'm all right," he assured. She gave him a smile at his wry tone. "You had a good holiday?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I mean, my family doesn't celebrate Christmas, but we had a nice break."

He nodded, understanding.

"It was nice of Agent Jareau to invite me for dinner," Layla commented, professionally.

"Yes, JJ's a special person," he agreed.

The elevator dinged for the BAU floor.

"Well, this is me," he finished. "Have a good day."

She smiled at him as he got off the elevator.

"Dave!"

He turned around when Layla exclaimed his name. He found her standing in the elevator doorway, keeping the door from closing.

"Yeah," he said amused.

"Spencer and I are having dinner with my family tomorrow night. Can you come?" she asked nervously.

He raised an eyebrow at her. They _were_ friendly but he wasn't sure if they were on 'meet the parent's' terms.

"Please," she said sheepishly. "My parent's insisted on meeting Spencer and he's nervous."

"Sure," he agreed, unsurely.

"Great, Spencer will give you all the details," she finished cheerfully.

She gave him a wave and a happy smile, letting the door finally close. Somehow, and he knew this couldn't be true, because Layla was way too innocent, he felt like he'd just gotten conned into something. He didn't know what, because her story was totally believable—Reid being nervous was a natural, day to day thing—but something was up.

Walking through the BAU doors, he spotted the skinny doctor at his desk immediately. And he wasted no time cornering the younger man. Answers would be had.

"Doctor Reid, just the person I wanted to see," Rossi announced ominously, from behind Reid's back.

Reid swung around in his chair and for a brief millisecond there was a look of deep panic on the young doctor's face. But, just as quickly as it had come, it was masked. However, it was too late; Dave latched onto the look and held on for dear life.

"Rossi, morning," Reid greeted. "Did you have a good time on your days off?"

"Oh, very good," he lied. "You?"

"Can't complain," Reid answered.

He was just about to turn back to whatever he was doing before Rossi had arrived, but he spoke up again.

"So, I just ran into your girlfriend," Rossi started conversationally.

"Oh," Reid said nonchalantly. But there was a flicker of that panic again.

_Yep, something was up for sure._

"Yeah, she invited me for dinner with her parents tonight, isn't that funny?" His voice was amused, but his look was suspicious.

Reid held his 'I'm not quite sure what's going on?' look for a few seconds longer and then he caved.

He let out a huge sigh. "I told her this wouldn't work but she kept insisting."

_Uh hah!_ he thought dramatically, he had known something wasn't quite right.

"What wouldn't work?" he asked suspiciously.

"Layla was worried that you spent all you time off alone," Reid explained. "She thought you looked like you needed company."

"What does she think I am an orphaned kitten?" Rossi scoffed, though he was touched by her caring.

"No, no," Reid assured. "She just wanted to… you know, make sure you're in good hands," he paused when Rossi raised an eyebrow at him. "Her words, not mine."

Rossi thought about it for a second. With Emily gone in Chicago, and Hotch thoroughly occupied by JJ, he had been lacking in company…

"You sure picked a busy body for a girlfriend," Rossi commented kindly.

"She means well," Reid confessed.

Rossi nodded. "All right, just tell where, and I'll be there."

"Really?" Reid exclaimed. "Great, I'll let Layla know"

Rossi watched on as Reid wrote down all the details. Reid was grinning from ear to ear and that initial feeling of foreboding came back to settle in the pit of his stomach.

_What did I just sign my life away to?_

* * *

Rossi glanced down at the chicken scratch Reid had given him and then up at the house, and back again. He let out a resigned sigh; _yep_, he was in the right place.

He stared up at the brown brick, three storey building, it was old but in a very rich kind of way, which had Rossi wondering what exactly Layla's parents did for a living.

_Why was he here again?_ He held in one hand a bunch of yellow and white daisies—never one to come empty handed. They were the friendliest flower in his opinion, one he'd never give to a girl on a first date.

_But this isn't a date, Dave,_ he scolded himself. He pushed the buzzer and wondered why that—dates—had even crossed his mind.

The door finally opened and he was briefly surprised into silence by the unfamiliar woman standing there.

Even though she was someone new to him, she still had familiar features. She shared Layla's dark brown, huge eyes, with thick long dark fringe. Her nose was the same as Layla's too, small, button like. But that's where the similarities seemed to end.

This woman had lighter hair than Layla's dark brown, almost black curls. Hers was almost auburn and straight and sleek. And her skin was farer than Layla's Mediterranean tone.

_Mother?_ he thought.

_No,_ this woman was older than Layla, but by five years, max. _Sister?_

"Yes," she questioned, annoyed, raising an eyebrow at him.

He realized he'd been standing there gawping. "Uh yes… am I in the right place, the Sayid residence?"

The woman further surprised him by suddenly cursing, "Son of a— I knew it! Layla, Spencer, I'm going to kill you!"

She stormed away, leaving the doorway wide open. Rossi continued to stand there, feeling flabbergasted. In all his life and it'd been a long one, he'd never received a greeting quite like that one.

Layla suddenly appeared in the doorway looking appropriately abashed. "Dave, so good of you to come," she said, off-tune.

He gave her an eyebrow raise. "Layla?" His tone conveyed his obvious incredulity.

"So, I see you've met my sister May," Layla said tensely. "Umm… she really is a sweetheart."

Rossi barely held in his laughter, knowing Layla was embarrassed enough. "I can tell."

She gave him a grateful smile. "Come in?"

Her questioning tone had him giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Sure," he answered and then held out the flowers. "Uh… I brought these."

Layla took them from his hand and then ushered him inside. An older woman in a uniform was standing there.

"Jenny, can hang your coat," Layla let him know.

He took off his coat and handed it to the woman. She also took the flowers from Layla. "Thank you," he said awkwardly.

"Thanks Jenny," Layla added affectionately.

Rossi had a weird feeling in his stomach. This whole experience was so surreal. He wanted to say, "Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming," but refrained.

Layla gave him a strained smile. She led him through a hallway and into what he supposed was the living room. Only it looked like a living room straight out of Buckingham Palace. Ok, that was an exaggeration. But with the ornately upholstered sofa, loveseat and chair, combined with the marble topped coffee table and Persian rug underneath it all, it wasn't much of a stretch.

Rossi took a quick moment to survey the room's occupants. In the chair sat an older looking woman, identical to Layla in everyway except her nose was slightly larger. This was Layla's mother, surely. And sitting adjacent to her on the long sofa was an older man: Layla's father. He could see that Layla's sister got her heart shaped face form her dad as opposed to their mother's oval shaped. He also shared dark hair with Layla.

And there, on the loveseat, sat his esteemed colleague and friend, Reid, alongside Layla's sister, May. They were whispering together furiously. Reid looked pale. And he realized that May was quietly tearing him a new one.

Layla cleared her throat getting everyone's attention. Rossi stared back at her parent's interested expressions. He glanced at May; she was looking through him, not really looking at him. She was still miffed and he had no idea what he'd done. He chanced a look at Reid, he still looked pale and now the panicked look from yesterday was back.

"Mom, Dad, May," Layla started to introduce. "This is Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi from the Behavioural Analysis Unit at the FBI. He's a profiler."

Layla turned to look at him, ready to introduce them to him. He gave her a brief, quizzical look, wondering why such a formal introduction.

"Dave," she said to him pointedly. "These are my parent's Ali and Leena Sayid."

Rossi took a moment to shake each of their hands mumbling polite words in exchange. Their curious looks didn't waver.

"And you've kind of met my sister already," Layla said sheepishly. "This is May."

Her sister stood up. "Malika," she corrected.

"Oh right, sorry, _Malika_," Layla fixed.

Malika extended her hand for him to shake. "Only Layla calls me May," she explained.

The hard expression on her face suddenly softened a bit. "Sorry about before," she apologized; she shot her sister and Reid a wry look as she continued, "I was caught off guard. My sister and Spencer failed to inform me we'd be having company."

He stared at her strangely, trying to get a read on the woman before him. Strangely, even with her change of tone and look she didn't seem so apologetic. She gave him a smile. It was beautiful, but somehow he kind of felt like he was being laughed at. He wanted in on the joke.

"Agent Rossi," Layla's mother interrupted their exchange. "Please, have a seat."

He turned to look at her kind, smiling face. She gestured to the sofa, and he said, "Please, call me Dave, Mrs. Sayid."

"Then you must call me, Leena," she said charmingly, in her accented voice.

He smiled back, "Leena," he said politely.

Now that's what he was expecting: charming-ness, politeness, almost shyness. Like Layla. Her mother and she shared an elegance it was obvious. As he continued to smile at her he realized that this woman was probably his age and she had two grown daughters. He suddenly felt super old.

"Thank you for having me over, Mr. Sayid," Rossi continued with the pleasantries.

"Ali," he corrected.

"Ali," Dave echoed.

They all sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence. The kind that happens when you meet new people. But this one was made worse, if possible, by the fact that he thought he seemed to be missing something important.

He watched as Layla ushered her sister out of her seat to sit next to Reid. Malika being evicted form her seat looked around for another place to sit. The only one was between himself and her father. He watched her turn to face her sister. He couldn't see Malika's face but from the look on Layla's face—shock—he knew the look couldn't have been pleasant. She sat down rather reluctantly, making Rossi wonder what he'd done to offend her again.

"So…" Reid began.

Rossi eyed his friend carefully. He swiftly realized the young genius did not seem one bit nervous. Furthering his suspicions that things were not what they appeared to be.

But what _was_ going on, he had yet to find out. But he would.

* * *

After about ten minutes of small talk the group had moved into the dining room, which was every bit as glamorous as the living room. And now they were in the midst of enjoying their first course, a butternut squash soup. It tasted delicious.

Rossi spared a moment to look around the room that had gone quiet with the arrival of the soup. Layla and Reid were sitting on one side of the table, while Malika and himself occupied the other side. Ali and Leena were at opposite ends with Leena closest to him.

So far, he'd learned that Layla's father did something in the oil and gas industry, while her mother was and had always been a homemaker. When he'd found that out he'd been surprised. She seemed far too glamorous to be anything less than a movie star. He'd also found out that Malika was a doctor in genetics. She wasn't very forthcoming in the details and most of what he'd found out came from the others.

"So, David," Ali started formally. "Spencer, here, tells us you've been married three times and are single now…"

Rossi raised an eyebrow at his young friend. He was surprised when Malika groaned out loud as if she were in pain. He spared her a curious look. But everyone seemed to be ignoring her so he attempted to as well.

"Has he now?" Rossi replied.

"Yes," Ali continued. "Why so many?"

The man was blunt and Rossi was starting to get an idea as to why exactly he was there.

"Well, I loved them, but it soon became clear that I was marrying for the wrong reasons."

He was marrying them for the sake of marrying. It had always seemed like the logical next step. Just as divorce was the step after that. Now he knew better.

"And do you think you've figured out the right reasons for marriage?" Ali asked.

"Dad!" Malika exclaimed.

"What?" Ali asked innocently. "I'm just curious. I've never met a man who's willingly gone through a wedding three times."

Rossi chuckled at his joke. "True. Weddings are insane."

"So…" Ali prompted.

"Yes, I think I've figured out the right reasons," he answered.

He wasn't imagining things when Ali and Leena exchanged a pleased smile.

"Sadly," he needed to add. "I've yet to meet the woman who will take me a fourth time."

Not true. He believed Emily might take him. Sadly, _she_ was already taken.

"Well," Leena said, pleased. "Never say never…"

Another groan came from Malika's vicinity. Rossi glanced her way, seeing she was sinking lower and lower into her chair.

"You're right, Leena," he said loudly. "She's probably under my very nose."

Malika shot him a glare which he accepted with a grin.

The conversation turned to something less obvious and more neutral, but Rossi knew exactly why he was invited over tonight. The unmarried and single Malika was in need of a suitor/boyfriend and somehow Reid and Layla had gotten it into their heads that he'd fit the bill.

Well, they were going to be sadly disappointed since his heart belonged to another and Malika seemed to find it painful to be in the same room with him. There would be no proposals of marriage tonight that was for sure.

* * *

Rossi was back in the Sayid living room sitting with Reid and Layla. The parents had gone upstairs saying, "We'll leave you kids to your fun and get out of your way." Rossi had almost burst out laughing at that. He wasn't sure if they realized that they were probably only a few years older than him at most, or if they knew but were choosing to ignore it. Either way, despite their obvious motives, he'd enjoyed their company tonight and was a bit sad to see them leave.

As soon as Ali and Leena had left, Malika had quickly mumbled out an excuse—which sounded a lot like, her hamster was dying—and had left as well. Now, as he sat there, he stared back at Layla and Reid who, in turn, were staring at him with concerned, wide-eyed looks.

Layla opened her mouth to say something; Rossi was sure she was going to say something ridiculous like apologize for her sister's behaviour. But in his book, Malika had nothing to be sorry for. She had been completely blindsided by his presence and after realizing everyone's intent—to set the two of them up—he couldn't blame her for her bristly attitude.

So, instead of letting Layla get out the completely unwarranted apology he cut her off, "Uh, Layla, where is your washroom?"

"Oh," Layla said in surprise. "Down the hall, third door on you right."

He didn't need to go. "Thanks."

The second he started walking he could hear the whispers begin behind him. He tuned them out as he followed the young agent's directions. His plan: go in there, maybe accidentally splash water on himself and then bow out, mock-embarrassingly, from the night. Not the most elegant of plans, but it would do in a pinch.

As he continued down the hallway he could hear some shuffling noise coming from one of the rooms. The door was open and he was curious, so he stuck his head inside to see Malika pouring herself a shot of amber liquid. The room she was in appeared to be an office.

"How's your hamster doing?" he joked.

He had the pleasure of seeing her jump about three feet into the air. Luckily, for her, the shot glass was still on the desk.

"Holy crap! You scared me half to death! I thought you were my parents," she exclaimed tersely.

"Aren't you a little old for a scolding?" he asked wryly.

"Are you kidding me? In my family you're never too old to be put in your place," she retorted. "Now, shut the door behind you, I am not missing out on this."

Intrigued, he shut the door behind him, with him on the inside. She seemed momentarily irked but a second later she was fumbling in a desk drawer for a second shot glass. She poured out a second and gestured towards it.

They each took the glass in hand and downed the contents quickly. Strong tequila burned his throat, but he was experienced enough to handle it and he wasn't surprised when it didn't seem to phase Malika either and she poured them another glass.

"So…" Rossi started.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Are you really going to ask me? Haven't I been humiliated enough tonight?"

"So… what was the deal tonight?" he asked anyways, earning him a glare.

He realized she was very pretty when she was mad, all dark and smouldering.

"My parent's… they're traditional… they believe it's about time I settled down," she said haltingly.

"How old are you?" he asked not really expecting an answer.

"Thirty-one," she said.

Surprised, he said, "But you're so young!"

"Are you kidding me? By my parent's standards I'm ancient," she ranted. "Never mind the fact that I'm an accomplished person, a doctor. No, what counts is that I'm still single!"

Rossi hadn't gotten that impression from her parents. They seemed really proud of their two daughters and what they'd become. But he had a feeling telling her that right now wouldn't earn him any points.

_Was he trying to earn points?_ he thought, surprising himself with the notion.

As she through back a second shot, tipping her head back, he could see the movement of the liquid down her slender throat. The image was suddenly tantalizing and he thought, _Maybe I should try to win points?_

"So what was I, bachelor number one?" Rossi joked.

He had the pleasure of seeing her grin briefly. It lit up her face and he saw that she was even more beautiful when she was amused. "Try like number twenty."

Rossi let out a low whistle. "They really want you out of the house…"

She gave a little chuckle. "Yeah, I guess they do. I have no idea why, I _am_ perfectly charming…"

Rossi smiled. He was liking her more and more. Her ability to laugh at herself was endearing.

They went silent again as they consumed their third and fourth shots.

"So, with three failed marriages under your belt, Agent Rossi," Malika began bluntly. "How old, exactly, would you be? Forty? Forty-five?"

He shot her an incredulous look which she interpreted as reluctance to answer.

"Oh, come on, I told you my age and I'm a lady," she exclaimed.

"I'm fifty-four," he answered, just as she was taking a sip of her sixth shot of tequila.

Her 'I'm a lady' claim came under question as the alcohol came out of her nose and she began to cough. He grabbed some tissue from the box and handed it to her, clearly amused.

"Thanks," she said as she wiped herself off.

"You're welcome," he answered and added, "What's wrong with fifty-four?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, I just thought… I mean, you look younger… I mean you're in the FBI…"

He let her sit in her sudden uncomfortable-ness for a moment before he relieved her.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," he assured her kindly.

"It is," she murmured.

Rossi didn't know if she was actually blushing or if she was flushed from all the alcohol but he knew that she wasn't meeting his eyes for the first time that night.

Another silence, this one more palpable and slightly less companionable settled between them. Neither one of them was reaching for their drinks either.

Rossi didn't know if it was the drink or not that made him do what he did next, but he was unexpectedly reaching a hand out to gently touch her chin. He tipped her head up so that he could meet her gaze. Her dark eyes were wide and glistening with intensity and suddenly he was leaning forward, pressing his lips against hers.

Immediately, his first thought was he'd never kissed anyone with softer, fuller lips than hers. He moved his mouth against hers eager to deepen the kiss and she eagerly matched his pace. The kiss felt great and he had the sudden urge to see if she felt the same.

Pulling back, she let out a little mewl of protest, and he could see that, yes, she felt the same. Eyes, now half-lidded, lips parted, her breath was coming out in short spurts. He reached a hand out to cup the back of her head, pulling her close to him. He murmured, "Mali—" before she closed the distance between them.

This time, though, they'd barely touched lips when they heard the creek of the door opening. And they jumped apart when they heard Layla exclaim, "Oh!"

They looked to her, Rossi, for one, slightly annoyed at the interruption—though, in the back of his mind he was wondering where all this had come from and maybe the interruption was a good thing.

"Uh… Jenny brought out coffee, if you want," Layla said quickly and then she turned to leave.

They were alone again, only the sound of their laboured breathing filling the silence. When Malika reached for a pen and a sticky note a second later, he wondered what was so urgent to get down.

He didn't have to wonder long, when two seconds later she handed him the paper and then fled the office.

He looked down at it and there, written down, were seven digits.

* * *

Rossi and Reid exited the Sayid's residence together about a half hour later. After Malika had written down her number and fled he hadn't seen her for the rest of the night. But the paper was safely in his pocket.

Reid was driving him home since he wasn't sure if he was intoxicated or just bewildered by the night's events. Either way, he didn't think he could drive. Layla was going to drive his car to work the next day.

They climbed into Reid's compact car, Rossi was perfectly happy to just be, but he wasn't sure the kid got the memo.

"So…" Reid started. "Thanks for coming with me—"

"Cut the crap kid," Rossi said harshly. "We both know that wasn't your first time over."

"Sorry," Reid mumbled apologetically.

Realizing he'd been a tad harsher then intended, he said, "I had a nice time tonight."

"Yeah?" Reid said unsurely, sparing him a glance. "Malika is _nice_ isn't she?"

Nice was emphasized and Reid was obviously fishing. "Yeah, a little rougher around the edges then Layla, but yeah she is _nice_."

They were parked in front of his house the next time Reid spoke again. He had a concerned look on his face.

"Just… if you're going to start anything with her be sure you can follow through, ok?" Reid said urgently.

Rossi wasn't sure if there was something else he was missing about Malika but he suddenly felt like there was. And it had him abruptly thinking twice about their kiss that night. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea.

"Ok…" Rossi agreed.

"She really is great," he assured one last time before Rossi got out.

He agreed. Malika was an interesting woman. But he was in love with Emily. Could he follow through on anything with any woman as long as he felt that way about Emily?

He went to sleep that night with that dilemma playing over and over in his mind.

* * *

Well that's it for now. Super long. I hope that didn't turn anyone off. I just wanted to get all the Sayid dinner party stuff into one chapter.

Just a few things: Rossi is 54 in this story, because in season 3 he says he's 52 and this story takes place before the episode 100 in season 5, two years later. Also I hope the names aren't too hard for people. They're all pretty basic Arabic names and pretty straight forward in their pronunciations.

Anyways, I had a super fun time writing the characters of the parents and Malika. If you've read For You, Always and Conflicted then you'll probably realize that they'll disappear for a bit. But they'll be back later.

Thanks to my two reviewers: **kdzl and p95000**.

And thanks to anyone else who's been reading!


	13. Choices

**A/N:** Hey all. I'm so sorry for not updating. Truthfully, after getting such good response for the last chapter and for the characters of Malika and her family I was having some trouble on putting out a chapter that could top it. So, I put it off forever. Until, finally, I sat down and said to myself, 'Write damn it!' And I wrote. So this is what came of my yelling at myself. Hope you enjoy! :)

And I'm putting this very important note up top, because time is running out to nominate your favourite stories/authors.

**From ilovetvalot and tonnie2001969, the two lovely moderators at the forum Chit Chat on Authors Corner: The Second Annual Profiler's Choice Awards are up & running at "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. The nomination ballot IS available! Please, please, please READ the rules and category descriptions before casting your noms. Time is running out. The LAST day to submit your ballot is October 15, 2011, 11:59pm EDT. Remember, without you guys there'd be no awards! HAVE A BALL! We're SUPER EXCITED!**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 13: Choices:**

* * *

Dave awoke abruptly, his breath coming hard, only to run a hand through his hair to find it sweat soaked.

_Whoa!_ he thought.

He tried to remember the details of the dreams that he was having because they were apparently quite intense and taking a toll on his body. But all he could seem to remember were various images of Malika.

Malika running through a park, laughing, in a summer dress. Malika dressed to the nines, giving him a knowing smirk. Malika in his bed with not much else on.

He let out a frustrated groan. Needless to say, he hadn't gotten much sleep that night. Dave had only just met her that night and she was already running wild in his mind. She was definitely having her way with his subconscious.

He sat up in bed and glanced at his alarm clock. Too early to really get up. He allowed himself to flop back in bed, willing himself to get a hold of his raging hormones.

_What was wrong with him? _

Just because he couldn't have Emily didn't mean he should latch himself to the first available woman around. Even if that woman intrigued the hell out of him and gave him a greeting like no other woman had ever before. Emily was the one he was in love with. Emily was the one he wanted.

_Yep, try telling that to your body, _an errant thought voiced itself.

Dave swung his legs over the side of bed and went right for his shower. Turning on the cold water, he sure hoped this would do the trick, because reasoning with his body sure hadn't.

He stepped inside after stripping, letting the cold water cool his flushed skin. Malika was nice. More than nice. But she sure didn't need him, a man who was utterly conflicted and who was willing to risk friendships to get what he wanted.

* * *

Rossi sat in the break-room, nursing a headache and a giant cup of coffee. He'd never been able to go back to sleep last night, though, the cold shower finally managed to turn his body off. He sure wished it could have turned his mind off, too.

But, after his inner revelation of his willingness to do whatever to get what he wanted had taken over his brain, he couldn't really sleep. All he could do was think about what that really meant for him, for Emily, for Derek, and overall for the whole team.

As he took another sip of his coffee he glanced up from the table to see Hotch walking in. Right away he could tell something was up. Something was different wit the Unit Chief, he seemed… happier. No, he wasn't whistling a happy tune, there wasn't a skip in his step, and he wasn't even smiling. But Dave could just tell; Hotch was in a very good mood.

Hotch finally noticed that he wasn't alone, he turned around and said, "Morning Dave."

And if it wasn't his imagination, there was a twitch of a smile at the corners of Hotch's lips.

"Mor… ning," Dave replied in some surprise. Before he could question the flicker of a smile, his stoic Unit Chief was off.

"Morning Boss-man," Garcia chirped as she side-stepped the exiting profiler.

"Good Morning, Penelope," Hotch replied politely, leaving his sight.

Garcia glided into the room and took the seat across from him. "Did you see that?" she exclaimed rather loudly, causing his head to throb.

"Garcia, please," he implored, tapping his head.

"Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly. Then she whispered, "Boss-man almost smiled!"

Good to know he wasn't imagining things. "Yeah, I saw that. I wonder what's up…"

"I know," Garcia offered, grinning from ear to ear.

"Do you really know?" he asked wryly. "Or do you _think_ you know?"

She gave him a bit of a pout. "Ok, I think I know," she amended. "Spoil sport."

He chuckled lightly and then said, "So…"

"Oh yeah," she said eagerly. "JJ and Hotch finally went out last night! Like on a real date!"

His head throbbed again. "Penelope," he urged.

"Sorry, I'm just really excited," she apologized.

"Understandable," he replied. "So what makes you think they went out?"

"Hotch just got here," Garcia said seriously.

Dave took a look at his watch. It was 9:30am. He gave a low whistle. "Wow, but what makes you think he didn't just feel like a late start?"

Garcia just gave him a look that said, "Are you kidding me?" And he gave her a sheepish look in return.

"This is big news," he said, voice low, but happy.

"Yeah it is!" Garcia practically screeched.

"Penelope," he scolded, clutching at his forehead.

She gave him a funny look then. "What's up with you?"

He let out an annoyed sigh. "Had a late night over at Layla's parent's house, then I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, that was last night?" Garcia said knowingly.

"You knew about the set up?" he questioned her sharply.

She gave him a perplexed look. "Set up?" She shook her head. "All I knew was that Layla really wanted her family to meet some of Reid's friends."

He stood up ready to head to his office, pausing he said, "Well Layla's family includes a very available, older sister."

Dave started to walk away when a loud screech pierced his brain. He turned around expecting to see Penelope writhing on the floor in pain. Instead, she just looked extremely excited.

"Oh, does that mean you and Reid are going to be brothers-in-law?"

He gave her a "you're crazy" look and started to quickly walk away; hoping ignoring her would be the way to go. But she kept coming.

"Wouldn't it be the sweetest thing in the world to see little Reid's and little Rossi's running around here… I can just imagine little Dave Junior."

His pace quickened and finally, after climbing the stairs, he made it inside his office. He turned to find Garcia standing just outside the doorway and he almost screamed.

"What would you name a little girl Rossi?" Garcia pondered. "Hmmm…" She looked lost in thought, so he took the opportunity to shut the door in her face. "Hey!" he heard her protest.

And just for good measure he turned the lock into place. He let out a sigh as he slumped into his desk chair. That'll teach him to be more careful of whom he confides in…

* * *

Dave smiled brightly when looking out his office window—trying to see if Garcia was in sight—he found the happy sight of Emily walking in through the BAU's glass doors. Without thinking about his safety, he left his office immediately and headed towards her, hoping to intercept her. He caught up to her just in time to witness her dejected dropping into her chair, followed by a groaned out, "Man."

He held in his chuckle at her obviously not wanting to be there today. He knew it had partly to do with the fact that it was her first day back from holidays and probably—mostly—to do with the fact that Derek had stayed behind in Chicago for a few extra days with his family.

Whatever the reason for her mood he was hoping to be the one to cheer her up. And Garcia had provided him with the perfect way.

He leaned up against Emily's desk and said, "Feeling the back to work blues?"

She looked up, momentarily startled, and said, "That and the 'I miss Derek and his family blues.'"

So he'd been right.

"Got a cure for either?" she posed to him.

"Well…" he stalled. "I don't know anything about the Derek blues, but… I do have a possible cure for the work blues."

Rossi smiled when her face lit up. He so liked to make her smile.

"Please, give me," she demanded.

"It's a bit of gossip, actually…"

"Good gossip," she said unsurely. "I hope…"

He nodded. "I would say so. A certain boss and a certain media liaison have apparently gone out on their first date."

"No way! When?" she exclaimed; just the reaction he'd been hoping for.

"I think it happened yesterday. At least that's what Garcia told me."

They exchanged a few more words on the subject of JJ and Hotch before Emily said, "Thanks Rossi, you've just made work a lot more interesting."

He gave her a grin. "No more blues?"

"Work blues," she corrected. "I still miss Derek, though."

His grin faltered slightly. As long as Derek was around he'd always be second in Emily's eyes. What could he do to make her see that he'd be just as good, if not better than Derek?

"Well, I'm no Derek," he paused. "But I could take you out to dinner tonight. It's been awhile since we've had some time to talk."

He received a smile at that. "You mean it's been awhile since I've talked your ear off."

He enjoyed their talks, he really did. "Remember, I'm always here for that, in good times and bad," he reminded. "Come on, I'll distract you from missing Derek for at least an hour or two."

She seemed to be considering his offer for a second or two. He could see a slight hint of hesitation on her part and wondered where it came from. But a second later she was agreeing and her moment's deliberation was forgotten.

"Ok," she agreed.

"Good," he said happily. "I'll pick you up at 7?"

"Sure," she said standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a certain blonde friend to harass."

He chuckled, watching her walk towards the stairs. His mind drifted to tonight wondering if he should have a game plan. Operation win Emily over was now set in motion.

* * *

Well that's it for now. I hope to update soon. I know this mediocre chapter will be much easier to follow up.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter:** miaa29; Come2MyRescue; p95000; kdzl; SkySydfan24** _(glad you're enjoying the little series);_ **and SunnyInOregon** (_I'm glad you all seem to like Malika)._

Let me know what you think of this little update. Thanks.


	14. Kiss

**A/N:** Hey all! Super sorry for the long wait. I've got so many on-going fics and a new job too. So, updating this one was put on the backburner for a bit. But, I'm back with another chapter, I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 14: Kiss:**

* * *

Rossi sat in his office pondering where he would take Emily later that night. He should have been working but his mind wouldn't cooperate. He was also wondering whether to directly approach her about the possibility of an "us, or to be a little more subtle about it. He was leaning strongly towards just kissing her outright.

He stared off into space momentarily, a memory of a recent kiss suddenly rushing forth. And he wondered if Emily's lips would feel as soft as—

He shook himself out of last night's memory just as a knock came at his door. Rossi quickly called out, "Come in," and when the door swung open it was to reveal Dr. Reid. He couldn't help it; he couldn't hold back his groan. Reid was probably the last person he wanted to see at that moment.

It wasn't often that Reid came a calling, this could only mean one thing.

"Hey," Reid greeted, a puzzled look on his face.

"Hi," Rossi replied, tone coming out gruff. "What can I do for you, Reid?"

Reid seemed to take this as an invitation to sit, as if the groan and gruff tone meant absolutely nothing to him. Rossi watched him, wary, knowing the kid was capable of devious things.

"Nothing. I'm just here to uh… make small talk," Reid replied, not really looking him in the eye. He grabbed Dave's nameplate and proceeded to fidget with it. "Did you see the game last night?"

Dave saved his groan this time and instead said, "Nope, I was busy, being auctioned off to the highest bidder by my friend and his girl."

Reid flushed at that. "Malika said she had a nice time last night. She said she was glad we invited you."

Rossi lifted his eyebrow at him. That did not sound like the girl he'd met last night. She may have had a nice night but he got the feeling she'd never admit that to Reid.

"Did she tell you this directly?" he questioned dryly.

Reid's blush grew deeper. "No, Layla told me."

Yeah, he was so sure the younger sister was probably holding back a few details or two. He almost grinned at the thought of Malika's actual tirade, but held back at the last second; that would give off the wrong impression.

When Reid didn't continue Rossi let out a sigh. "Reid, what are you really doing here?"

"Layla, Malika, and I are going out to dinner tonight, we thought it'd be nice if you came along," Reid blurted out quickly.

"Does Malika know you're inviting me?" At his young friend's sheepish look, Rossi added, "Reid… haven't you two learned. Look what happened last night."

Reid seemed to perk up at this little message. He sat up a little straighter and said, "From what Layla told me, it went well."

He let out another sigh. "I thought you told me to be careful with her?"

"That's before I found out you kissed her and she didn't punch you in the face for it," Reid said happily.

Rossi grimaced. "She's done that before, hasn't she?"

His friend seemed to blanch at that. "Uh… no… no, of course not."

_Yeah right,_ he thought. _That was one feisty woman. _

"So, will you come?" Reid persisted.

"Sorry, I've got plans," Rossi denied, shaking his head. "I'm taking Emily out to dinner tonight."

After a moment's silence, Reid let out an, "Oh."

And it wasn't his imagination that it was a most definite weighty sounding 'oh.'

"Reid?" Rossi inquired.

"It's nothing," he replied swiftly, standing to go. "I've uh got to—"

"Sit," he demanded, frowning.

The kid had something to say and Rossi wanted to know what. Reid reluctantly did as told.

He waited patiently for Reid to look up and say something. "Just," he started, then stopped. It took him another minute to speak up. "I see the way you look at Emily sometimes."

"Oh?" Rossi said, intrigued; he'd thought he'd been hiding his emotions pretty well.

"I'm not sure… but, I don't think Emily looks at you the same," Reid added, bluntly.

Rossi wasn't mad at his assumption, but he wasn't happy either.

"Well, thanks for the observation kid. But FYI, Emily and I are just friends," Rossi replied a little too tersely. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Reid got up looking slightly hurt. "So, is that a no on tonight?"

Rossi couldn't help the glare he shot at the skinny man that got him high-tailing out of there.

* * *

The number seventeen stared him in the face as he stood in front of Emily's closed apartment door. He'd been standing there for a good five minutes without knocking. He blamed his hesitation on the few words that kept playing over and over in his mind.

"_I see the way you look at Emily sometimes… I don't think Emily looks at you the same…"_

Damn Reid for putting doubt into his mind. He'd liked Emily practically from the moment he'd met her. They'd formed a special connection. He knew that Emily could feel the same as he did, eventually.

Finally, shaking Reid's voice out of his head, he knocked on the door. After about thirty seconds of waiting, a breathless Emily answered the door.

Rossi took a moment to take her in completely; she was wearing a deep purple, off the shoulder style dress. It showed off her alabaster skin quite nicely.

He opened his mouth to greet her, but instead of actual words coming out, all he was able to say was, "Wow."

Her cheeks tinged with pink as she stared down at herself. "What, too much?"

She looked breathtaking. He shook his head, ready to tell her how beautiful she looked, instead, "Just… wow."

She gave him a wry smile. "Funny Dave… you're early, you know."

"Really?" He glanced down at his watch. It said six fifty five. "I thought we said seven?"

"Yeah, but Derek's always like ten minutes late… so I've come to expect it, now."

Rossi frowned at that. "A little inconsiderate, isn't that?"

She gave him a wary look, similar to the hesitant one from earlier that day and said, "I'm used to it now."

"Well… I'm not Derek, so…" he felt the need to remind.

"Can you help me with this necklace?" she changed the subject quickly.

She held out a long, silver chain with a turquoise pendent hanging from it. He allowed the tense moment to pass, taking it from her hand.

"Certainly…" he said, eyeballing the skin at the hollow of her neck, "Uh, turn around."

He watched her do as requested, pulling her hair away from her neck. Rossi wound the chain around her neck, fixing the clasp. His fingers brushed against the nape of her neck and he had the satisfaction of seeing her shiver.

"Cold?" he asked, as she turned around.

"Uh… a little," she answered, clearly flustered.

Rossi eyed her carefully, wondering what was up with her. He decided to let it go for now. He found her coat on a nearby chair, grabbing it, he said, "Here."

She slipped her arms into the coat and turned back to face him, a small smile on her face. "Thanks."

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered, starting for the door. But then she was looking down at her feet. "Uh… shoes… I need shoes, and then I'm good to go."

He chuckled lightly, watching her head back inside.

* * *

"And then she threw all my clothes out the second floor window," Rossi told, smiling fondly at the memory of his second wife's annoyance over him choosing a weekend of fishing over a weekend of visiting with her mother who hated him. "She was pretty dramatic, don't you think?"

Emily didn't reply. She was staring down, wistfully, into her plate of untouched food. He knew it couldn't have been the food's fault that it had gone uneaten—La Vita e' Bella had the best Italian food this side of Italy. It must have been something else. They'd been at the restaurant nearly an hour and he'd tried all sorts of stories to get her cheered up. He was now resorting to tales of his ex-wives. Probably not the best thing for him to do, reminding the woman he was pursuing that he'd had 3 failed attempts before.

He let out a sigh. He had a feeling he knew what was up, still he asked, "Are you ok?"

Startled, Emily looked up at him with wide, doe-like eyes. "Huh?"

He laughed. Well so much for his story-telling abilities. "You seem kind of distracted," he said lightly. "Kind of down. I thought I was supposed to be cheering you up."

Emily gave him a bit of a panicked look. He knew he'd made her feel guilty for not responding to his attempts. So not what he'd intended.

"Oh, Dave you are," she tried to reassure him.

If this was how people looked when they were cheered up, he was going to get out of the cheer-up business.

"Ok, it's not you," she amended reluctantly. Her added wistful sigh told her exactly who it was getting her down.

"You still miss Morgan…" he stated wryly.

She surprised him when she blurted out, "No, it's not that!" And then she added, "I mean, yes I miss him…"

He listened to her patiently, giving her the space she needed to get out what she had to say. But as she trailed off, struggling, he said gently, "What is it, Emily?"

Rossi hoped his eyes were conveying his un-said message of, "You can tell me anything. Always."

"I just… I just…" she continued to struggle. She took a deep breath, and on her exhalation she blurted out, "Does this feel awkward to you?"

He gave her a puzzled look. It felt different, yes. He knew she was struggling with Derek's absence. But awkward…

"Um… it didn't until now," he said awkwardly.

She looked stricken, and was apologizing a second later. "I'm sorry, Dave."

He needed to know why after so many times of going out together, alone, she suddenly felt weird about it. If it was something he'd done he vowed to apologize profusely and of course make it up to her anyway he could.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" he questioned slowly.

"I guess," she started, just as slow, her eyes darted to meet his briefly showing her uncertainty, and then just as quickly she was looking away. "I've just been thinking about how easy it used to be for us to talk…"

_But it wasn't easy anymore?_

"But lately…" she continued, "Well, we haven't as much…"

She seemed confused and disheartened by the fact that their friendship seemed scaled back compared to the pre-Morgan days. He wanted to assuage her feelings.

"Things change… circumstances…" he began reasonably, "…change. You probably do a lot of your talking with Derek now."

She winced at that and he suddenly thought that maybe she felt guilty at neglecting him. Yes, he was saddened by their decreased amount of one on one time. But he wasn't going to let her feel bad over living her life because of his own feelings.

"Which is understandable and ok," he assured.

She nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Still," he interrupted her thoughts, hoping she wasn't getting too comfortable with the idea of losing him as a confidant. "You probably feel like it's weird between us because you don't want to feel like you're betraying Derek."

Emily had resumed eating at his last words, but she dropped her fork now and looked up at him sharply.

"Why would I feel like that? We aren't doing anything wrong. We're just friends, that's all."

And there it was the tiniest bit of un-sureness on her part. Yes, they were friends, but it was the 'just,' she was beginning to wonder about and he was going to take that slight hesitation and build on it.

But for the moment it was time to back off.

"I mean," he began to backtrack, "… because if you tell me something first, before you tell him."

"Oh…" she said slowly.

"Emily, you need to relax," he continued. "Derek knows we're friends, I'm sure he wouldn't mind us talking."

She nodded before saying, "Yeah… I guess."

"Now, let's put a smile on that pretty face and try to enjoy the rest of our night, ok?"

He noticed her fidgeting hand and reached out to give it a pat. He was rewarded with an affectionate smile.

"Ok."

* * *

Rossi and Emily arrived at her apartment approximately three hours after their little heart to heart. After they'd 'cleared the air' things became rather like old times and they'd talked and talked for hours. They probably would have still been out if it hadn't been for the fact that they had work the next day.

"Thanks for tonight, Dave, I really had a good time," Emily said as she stood in front of her apartment door.

Rossi smiled absently at her. He had a great time with her, especially after they'd had their talk. Emily had calmed down enough for things to go smoothly.

"You're welcome, Emily," Rossi replied. "I'm just happy that I could make you smile."

In answer, she gave him a bright smile, the one that told him that just maybe things could go somewhere between them.

Emily leaned into him. For a second his breath hitched. His face took on a look of wonder. _Was she about to do what he hoped she would do?_

But when all that happened was a touch of Emily's lips to his cheek he felt slightly disappointed.

She leaned back, smiling, but it faltered when she took a look at him. He must have been giving her a pretty intense look, because it was at that moment that he decided he was going to go for it. He was going to kiss her.

Rossi could see in her eyes that she knew what he was about to do next and yet she made no move to back away. He began to lean in closer and closer to her, until their lips touched in a gentle kiss.

At first she didn't respond. And then she did, but not exactly in the way he'd hoped she would.

She pulled away abruptly, backing up until her back hit the door.

"Dave!" she exclaimed in outrage.

"Emily," he replied calmly. He didn't say more. He wanted to hear her thoughts on this new development before he offered up any explanation.

He watched her turn her back to him, fumbling around for her keys. He knew she'd want to have this out now, so he waited. And he was right.

She stepped into her open doorway and rounded on him angrily. "Wh… What was that?" she demanded tersely.

He gave her a wry look. "I think the answers obvious..."

_Wasn't it obvious? _he thought to himself. He thought it would be clear to her by now that he liked her. But by the horrified and confused look on her face maybe it wasn't so clear.

"Why would you—" she began furiously, "How could you—You ruined a perfectly good night!"

Dave could see she was furious. Maybe just outright kissing her wasn't such a good idea. Still…

"I didn't think it was that bad," he attempted to joke. She got very red at this and he could see she was about ready to yell again, so he cut her off, "What do you want me to say, Emily? That I'm sorry, that it won't happen again?"

"Yes!"

He let out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders. He'd apologize for his abrupt manner, but not for his feelings. "Well, I won't."

Rossi watched her open and close her mouth a few times; she really had been caught off guard. He didn't allow himself to think on what this could mean about her feelings for him.

She let a growl of frustration and said, "Are you crazy? I have a boyfriend who I happen to love. He also happens to be your friend!"

Derek was his friend. But he was willing to risk that friendship for Emily, for the chance at having so much more with her. It would be sad to lose Derek but to gain Emily at his side… that would mean so much to him.

"I know all this," he said, letting out a sigh as he stepped towards her. "But Emily, I also know that I care about you and—"

He was taken aback when she suddenly held her hands up in front of her, saying, "Don't. Just don't do this, Dave."

Rossi hadn't thought all this out. He knew he had feelings for her and somehow he just knew if she gave him a chance that maybe she'd return those feelings one day. So, he nodded, resigned for the moment. He needed to step back.

"Just," he began, "One question before I go."

She gave him a warning look. "Dave…"

"One question, and then I'll go," he assured.

After a moment's hesitation she nodded for him to go on.

"Do you…" he paused, "… have any feelings for me?"

Right away, she shook her head. "Dave…" she trailed off, eyes meeting his. He could see it written there plainly. At one point she may have, but now… "I'm sorry Dave, but I love Derek."

He could feel a pain in his chest. One he'd never really felt before. _Was this his heart breaking?_

Rossi gave her a curt nod and walked away. How could such a good night end so disastrously?

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. It's pretty long. I hope you enjoyed.

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read and to review: **Lurker760** _(I'm glad you like the character of Malika. I hope the reasoning behind Rossi's actions will become clearer in the next few chapters. It really does come down to familiarity. He knows Emily; he knows that he likes her. And with Malika it's like he'd have to take a risk with her and he's not sure he wants to do that; hope that makes sense);_ **Come2MyRescue; p95000; and SunnyInOregon.**

I will try my best to update soon. I'm eager to get through the next few chapters so that I can write Malika's return appearance which will be interesting.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks!


	15. Regrets

**A/N:** Hey all! So sorry about the wait for this chapter, I've been having some major writer's block. I got to the point where I wanted to get past all the drama and get to the happy Dave parts. So, I started this chapter and by the time I got half way through I realized I was rushing it. So, I scrapped it and started again. So, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 15: Regrets:**

* * *

She was avoiding him. Rossi watched as Emily quickly spoke to Morgan. They were on a case in Boston. Hotch had just teamed himself and Emily up to go speak with one of the victim's family members. Emily had outright protested the move much to everyone's surprise and Hotch had promptly shut her down. Now, Dave waited patiently while Derek questioned his girlfriend concernedly.

Rossi could reason that she had definitely not told her boyfriend about the kiss. He could tell by the sheer fact that his face was still intact, that was a dead giveaway.

Man, he'd made a mess of things. How could he have thought that kissing her would make things better?

He let out a sigh as she shot him a look of trepidation. Now, instead of friendly looks, he got looks like that from her.

She approached him tentatively.

"Emily—" he tried, but she wouldn't allow it.

"Don't," she said bluntly. "Let's go."

* * *

Sitting on the airplane, Rossi had isolated himself, feigning the need to finish his report for the case. No one had bugged him, but he caught the worried looks from his friends, especially Hotch and Reid. They knew him too well, and they knew he was a last minute kind of guy. So, this working on the case file was pretty strange for him. He didn't care, he needed time to think.

He was reliving the conversation he'd had with Emily during the case. The one where he'd been a bit of an ass and had managed to find out that his actions may have hurt Emily.

* * *

_Sitting in the SUV, Dave turned to Emily, not bothering to turn the car on. This was the only chance they'd have alone for the next few days and seeing as she wouldn't speak to him outright he'd have to make due with holding her hostage for a few minutes._

"_Emily is everything ok?" he asked, knowing the answer but wanting to get her to talk. The silent treatment was wearing him down._

"_Do you care?" she retorted disbelievingly. He hadn't expected his actions to come off as uncaring. This disturbed him greatly._

_He let out a sigh. He really did care about her. Too much, he was starting to think. "I didn't do what I did or tell you what I did because I don't."_

_Her response was more silence._

_He tried a different approach. "You didn't tell Derek," he observed._

"_Not yet," she informed._

_It'd been about two weeks since the kiss. He wondered what she was waiting for, what it meant that she hadn't. "So you are?"_

"_Of course I am. I owe him that," she responded, like his question was the dumbest one possible._

"_But why?" he asked incredulously. "If it meant nothing to you than why risk telling Derek, unless," he paused, trying to gauge her motives, "You're feeling guilty… maybe you did feel something and you think telling him will ease your conscience."_

_The look she shot him had him wanting to slap himself. Before he could apologize, she replied, "Don't flatter yourself. I need to tell him because as we get closer I don't want any secrets between us."_

It was reasonable,_ he thought._

"_Besides," she went on, "it's not my fault you can't control where your lips fall. I'm sure Derek will forgive me."_

_Irritated suddenly, he replied, "Well, I'd believe that if you didn't kiss me back." _

_Not completely true, he knew, still…_

_When her mouth dropped open in shock, he wanted to kick himself. She was unhappy with him already and he wasn't helping his case._

"_I knew you could be tough. I knew you could be harsh, but I didn't know you could be an outright jerk."_

* * *

He'd apologized, but he felt the damage had been done. He hated seeing the tears in her eyes and knowing he'd caused it. What was he doing? Why was he attempting this?

Dave looked across the plane. His eyes met Emily's briefly, hers full of regret, his full of pain. He cared for her. He wanted to make her happy. But he wasn't doing that, was he? So what? Should he give up?

He looked back up to see Derek eyeing him suspiciously. The man wasn't stupid. He also wasn't a bad guy. He was just convinced that he wasn't right for the dark haired beauty.

But Emily had been right that night two weeks ago. He considered Morgan his friend and what he was doing was not very friendly. No, maybe he should let him know his intentions at least. He considered the idea, long and hard, before going back to his report.

* * *

Dave had a headache, intense and throbbing, he would chalk it up to the plane ride home and the stress of the case if it wasn't for the decision he'd made during that plane ride. He was going to do it. He was going to tell Morgan what he really thought and felt about Emily.

He'd been standing on the balcony, above the bull pen, waiting for a chance and that's just what he got. Morgan stood up from his desk and weaved a path towards the break-room. Rossi eagerly followed.

He made it to the doorway just in time to see the younger man finish stirring his fresh cup of coffee. Morgan turned around to face him.

"Hey man," Morgan greeted pretty civilly, which only fueled in his head the need to tell him what he felt. Emily was right, Morgan saw him as a friend. He had a right to know what his _friend_ was thinking about his girlfriend. "Finished your report?"

"Not yet," Rossi lied; he'd finished hours ago. "Just needed a cup of coffee to refuel, like you."

Morgan stepped around him, gesturing at the fresh brew. "Well, there's plenty left, enjoy."

He was about to leave so Rossi quickly said, "You know, that's one thing I didn't miss when I came back to the BAU."

"What?"

"The reports," Rossi replied. "It sucks."

Morgan nodded, agreeing, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"But, I am glad I came back," he inched. _Here goes nothing…_ "I got to meet Emily, she's a great woman."

Derek frowned outright. He was clearly unsure of where he was going with this. "She is… she's the best."

Rossi nodded, pausing. Derek turned to go.

"I like her, Derek," he blurted out.

His colleague turned around slowly. "Again, she's a great woman, everyone likes Emily."

He shot him a raised eyebrow. "I think you know what I mean…I care about her..."

Derek visibly bristled, but he nodded. Rossi knew that he'd had suspicions for a while now. "I do. Question is what are we going to do about it?"

"I'd like to give you the heads up," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't want to back down."

"Are you crazy, man? She loves me, that's not going to change," Derek stated angrily

"Maybe, maybe not." Rossi grimaced.

Morgan sliced a hand through the air. "She isn't interested."

"Well… that I'm not so sure about," he finished, turning to leave.

"What are you talking about?" Morgan asked incredulously.

Rossi let out a sigh. "Ask Emily about a certain get together we had while you were in Chicago…"

And with that, he left Derek in the room looking hurt and confused.

* * *

Emily couldn't believe the nerve of the man. How could Dave do this to her? She thought they were friends. How could she have misjudged the man so much?

She stepped up to his door and pounded her fist against it sternly. _That's right Emily, no more Ms. Nice Woman._ She was angry.

The door opened and she came face to face with a startled Rossi. "Emily, what are you—"

The sound of a resounding slap cut him off. It hadn't been her intention when coming here, but the second she laid eyes on the man that she thought she'd trusted, her hand moved of its own free will.

"How dare you?" she said vehemently.

"Emily—" he tried again.

"You had no right! I was going to tell him. Why did you have to do that?"

"I—"

She shook her head; she was not in the mood to hear excuses. "No. I'm not sure what's going on with you. But you need to go back to being the man I knew, the friend I trusted, and fast, because this is not happening…" Emily gestured between the two of them, making sure he got the point.

She turned to flee, having said what she'd come to say; her anger had dissipated only to be replaced with dejection. Morgan wasn't happy with her even though she'd explained. And her best friend… well he couldn't be counted on for advice. She felt really alone, suddenly.

Dave's hand grabbed hold of her arm, whirling her back around. "Emily…." He waited for her to cut him off. She had no words left. "I'm sorry; I don't want to hurt you. I care about you."

She snorted at that. "You have a funny way of showing it…"

Dave held out his hands in a plaintive gesture. "I'm… sorry…"

She nodded her head. She hoped his apology meant that he was going to back off. That he was willing to put whatever he was feeling aside and let them just go back to normal. For her part, she was willing to forget any of this had ever happened. She loved Derek. Dave was just her friend.

She realized she was hoping a lot as she walked away.

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. I hope to update soon, I think I've gotten back into the swing of things with this story. So, here's hoping for a quicker update.

_Next chapter: Rossi runs into Elizabeth Prentiss. _

Thanks to everyone who's been reading. And thanks to my one reviewer: **p95000.**

See ya.


	16. Amends

**A/N:** Hey all! So sorry for the long wait, no excuse really other than I've been working other fics and this one kind of got put on the back burner. Anyways, we're coming closer to the end. I really want to be done by chapter 20. So, we'll see if that actually happens. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 16: Amends:**

* * *

Rossi sat in some random bar, alone, drinking away. He was attempting to drown out the events of the past week or so. God, he'd made such a mess of everything. Ever since he'd kissed Emily everything seemed to go wrong; things weren't even going well on that front, either, and really, he was done. He didn't think pursuing her further was worth losing her as a friend.

Sure, he'd told Morgan he'd had no intention of backing off, but the minute he'd told Derek to ask Emily about the night they'd kissed he knew that he'd crossed a line. He realized now that it had been stupid and childish on his part. And it really hadn't proved anything considering she'd come over to berate him afterwards.

He was supposed to be her friend; he saw himself as her protector of sorts. The person who listened to her problems, he wasn't supposed to be the cause of them.

"David Rossi?" a voice squeaked out in surprise.

He looked up from his drink to see who was calling his name. A familiar face hovered close by. He knew this woman, or at least he had known her, back when they were both a bit younger.

"Elizabeth Prentiss," he answered, extending a hand towards her. "What the heck are you doing here?"

She gave him a pleased smile, eyeing him curiously. "Meeting a friend," she answered. "Wow, it's been too long…"

"Twenty years," he agreed.

"Wow," she murmured again, inviting herself onto the stool next to him. He nodded his head as he remembered the last time he'd seen her: at some state event, wheeling and dealing amongst all the important people, like usual. Emily hadn't been with her at the time. It had probably been around the time all the Matthew stuff had been going on.

He looked at the woman sitting next to him. He'd never been overly fond of her back then, but now he liked her even less, knowing what Emily had gone through with her.

"Seen Emily yet?" he asked to make conversation.

"I had dinner the other day with her and that… _boyfriend…_" Rossi raised an eyebrow at the obvious derision she seemed to have for Morgan.

"Not a fan of Derek?" he point-blank asked.

She waved a hand in the air as if attempting to brush him from her memory. "The man's perfectly adequate. But he's just not suitable for my daughter."

"Who is?" he scoffed, putting his lips to his tumbler.

"Well, quite frankly, you are."

Rossi sputtered at that, choking on his liquor as it went down his throat. "Excuse me?" he asked, eyes burning.

"Derek is a good FBI agent, but he's got no aspirations to go further. You, on the other hand, you've done so much already and I suspect you aren't done reaching. You're going places and I'd like my daughter at your side when you do."

Since they were being frank, he shot back mirthlessly. "Lady, the only place I'm going is over the hill."

"You know," she continued as if he'd said nothing. "My daughter had a thing for you when she was younger. Had all your books, followed your career carefully. Of course, she said it was all in the pursuit of her own career—"

"It probably was," he cut her off. "She is an agent, after all."

Again she waved her hand around, ignoring him. "You didn't see the stars in her eyes… a mother knows…"

He let out an ungentlemanly snort. He was beginning to wonder if she knew anything about anything at all.

"Anyways… I think I've planted the seed of doubt in that young man's mind," she finished.

"What?"

"You're welcome," she said graciously. "Oh, look, there's Joe now. It was nice catching up, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of you in the future."

She left him then, mouth agape, wondering what she'd meant by planting the seed of doubt in Derek's mind. He didn't want this. He didn't appreciate Elizabeth Prentiss' manipulative meddling.

What was he going to do? What could he do?

For a second, he thought about going to Emily, telling her about this conversation, but he didn't think that would go over so well. Telling Derek probably wasn't a good idea either.

He let out a sigh. There wasn't much he could do, other than stay out of their way, for now.

* * *

Dave taped up yet another box of kitchen utensils, silently working on packing up Hotch's belongings. He, Hotch, Reid and Morgan were working on getting Hotch's things ready to move over to JJ's, while the girls prepped JJ's house. The happy couple was moving things along by moving in together. He couldn't have been happier for the pair. At least someone knew what they were doing in the relationship department.

"You ok?" Hotch suddenly broke the silence.

"Hmm…" Rossi replied in surprise. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Hotch gave him a quizzical look. "No reason, you're just quieter than usual."

"I'm fine," Rossi reiterated.

A look passed in Hotch's eyes, he could see the younger man didn't quite believe him. Well, too bad, he was in no mood to hash out his problems on a day that was supposed to be happy. Plus, he was trying to forget the past several months of his meddling. He hoped that in time both Emily and Derek would, too.

To cut him off he suggested, "Maybe we should check on Reid and Morgan. It's gotten pretty quiet in there. Who knows, Reid may have bored Derek to death with random bubble wrap facts."

Hotch nodded his head in agreement, dropping the box he'd been working on. Rossi followed his friend, cringing slightly. There was a reason why he was in the kitchen and Morgan in Jack's room. The man kept shooting daggers his way. He realized he deserved every one of them, but, really, there were only so many death glares a person could take.

They entered the tight room to see Morgan packing up a box of Jack's DVD's while Reid sat on the bed, flipping through a book he'd picked up.

"You know," the young doctor began. "When J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry—"

"Reid," Hotch cut him off quickly. The genius looked at his boss sheepishly. "Pack first, stats later, please."

"Right," Reid replied, picking up an empty box to place the book inside. Rossi chuckled at his friend.

"So…" Derek began as he taped shut the box in front of him. Rossi took it from him and placed it just outside the hallway, earning him a rueful look from the man. "Are you moving _all _this stuff to JJ's?"

Rossi kept his distance. He could see that Morgan was not liking his presence one bit.

"Only a few things…" Hotch answered, too caught up in his own happiness to notice the tension between the two agents. "The rest is going to either Hailey's or storage, until I can either sell it or use it."

Derek seemed to be considering this. "Isn't it going to be weird living in her house without your stuff?"

Rossi had to hold back a chuckle. In this the man was inexperienced. Emily, probably being the former player's only serious girlfriend, ever. The concept of coexisting was most definitely strange to him. He hoped for Emily's sake the young man smartened up and fast.

"I don't care about my things," Hotch offered. "I just want to be closer to JJ and Henry. Besides, maybe someday soon we'll move into a bigger house and I'll get my two cents in."

Hotch was practically beaming. He'd never seen the man so happy before. "Already thinking ahead, I see."

Hotch shrugged, while from the corner of Dave's eye he saw Derek cringe—presumably at the sound of his voice. _Oh well…_

"We care about each other. I don't see any reason why we won't be together in the future. And I'd like to give the family thing another shot."

"That's great, Hotch!" Reid spoke for all of them.

But Rossi could see that Morgan didn't share in their enthusiasm. "That's a bit fast, isn't it? You've only been dating two months."

_Uh oh…_ Rossi had a feeling this new cynical Derek was his entire fault. He felt the need to remind him, "Weren't you the one telling us about their 'goofiness' around each other when they first met? Sounded to me like this was a long time coming."

Derek opened his mouth to reply and from the look on his face the response wasn't going to be pleasant.

"It definitely was," Hotch cut him off pointedly. Rossi shot his best friend a look. Hotch was looking at both of them contemplatively, and he wondered if their Unit Chief suspected what was going on. "But who knows about timing. Look at you and Emily, Derek, you knew her for what almost two years before anything happened between you. Even though we all clearly saw that you two belong together."

Derek frowned visibly. "Yeah, me and Emily, we're a different story."

Alarm bells went off inside Dave's head. This _was_ totally his fault. How was he going to fix things?

Reid was about to comment on his friends tone, Rossi could see. But, Rossi thought that maybe that was enough Emily talk for now.

"So, Reid, how's Layla doing lately?"

Morgan put down the roll of tape he'd been fiddling with and exited the room abruptly. Rossi watched with concern, as his back disappeared down the hall. That was it; he had to tell him that he was backing off.

He made a move to go after him, but Reid held out a hand. "Wait," he said quickly. "I'll go talk to him."

Rossi nodded his head, realizing that was probably best.

"What," Hotch began, "was that?"

* * *

It was sometime later when Reid re-entered Jack's bedroom. By this time, Hotch had moved onto his own bedroom, after Rossi's brief response to his question of "Cold feet?" He was finishing up in the small room, but paused when Reid let out a sigh.

"Well, he isn't your biggest fan," Reid broke the silence, matter-of-fact-ly.

"Who, Morgan?" Rossi asked obviously.

"What happened, Rossi?" Reid wanted to know.

Rossi echoed his sigh, slumping against Jack's desk. "I messed up, I think. I crossed a line…"

His companion nodded his head as if he'd known all this. "I'm surprised…"

"Surprised?"

"Yeah… I thought you were smarter than this…"

Ignoring the fact that he'd just been called stupid by the considerably younger than him agent, he answered, "It's called the heart, Reid, not the brain. Love doesn't make sense sometimes."

Reid's eyes widened at that; he guessed he'd surprised the kid with the strength of his feelings. "So what are you going to do now?"

He held up his hands to either side. "What can I do? I'm backing off, of course."

Nodding his head, Reid went silent and Rossi thought the conversation was over until Reid blurted out, "What about Malika?"

"Reid," he said in a warning tone. "What about her?"

"She's available," he put out there. "And you two got along really well. What's wrong with giving her a call?"

He let out a sigh. The kid needed to stop this before Malika got wind of his meddling, wasn't he the one that mentioned she liked to punch people in the face or something like that. "Reid, stop. She was a really great girl. More than great," he added, remembering how he enjoyed her feistiness. "But do you think it would be fair to her to start something up when I still care about somebody else?" Realization dawned on the genius' face. "No… it wouldn't. Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but don't worry, I'll be ready to move on soon…"

"All right," Reid agreed slowly. "I'm sorry."

"No worries kid."

* * *

Hope you all are still enjoying. Let me know what you think!

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to my reviewers: **Shannon; agentracer25; Catulicious; p95000; Guest; and Lurker760.**

And thanks to anyone else who also may be reading.

I'll try to update soon.


	17. Heartache

**A/N:** Hey all. So sorry for the wait, again. Once again, I don't really have an excuse, other than I've been working on some other fics. This is going to be a short chapter too, but I hope you'll still enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 17: Heartache:**

* * *

Rossi let out a sigh as he climbed the steps up to the house's wrap-around porch. He knocked on the door and then stepped back to wait patiently for either Hotch or JJ to answer.

"Coming," he heard JJ call out from somewhere inside the house. A moment later the door opened to a perplexed looking JJ. "Dave?"

He smiled at her. "Hey," he greeted. "I was in the neighborhood… thought I'd stop by and see if you two wanted to get a drink or dinner?"

He wasn't really just in the neighborhood. Dave had been sitting alone at home, thinkng about his current messed up situation with Emily. The situation that was of his own making… how could such good intentions go horribly awry? He hadn't been able to take a moment more by himself, so he'd gotten in his car and driven. It had led him to his best friend's house.

JJ held the door open for him to come inside. "Well, we just had dinner, but maybe Aaron would like to go out with you…"

"You're an angel, JJ," Dave commented. "Most women I know aren't fans of letting their boyfriend's go out drinking…"

"I'm not most women," she said, giving him a grin. "Aaron," she called out.

A minute later, Hotch emerged from inside the house, a squirmy Henry in his arms. "We must be the new grand central station, Henry," Hotch baby-talked to the boy. "Hey, Dave."

Dave watched Hotch's eyes drift to him and then quickly back to the baby. It was like he just couldn't get enough of the infant.

JJ walked over to her now live-in boyfriend. "When did he wake up?"

Hotch glanced at her guiltily. "My fault. I went to check on him and I may have accidentally woken him up…"

She gave him a wry smile. "You mean accidentally on purpose, don't you…" JJ took her son from him. "Let's go put you back to bed, sweetheart… Dave's got a proposition for you, Aaron."

"See you later, Henry," Hotch said quickly.

Dave enjoyed watching his friend navigate the domestic scene. At least someone was happy…

Once baby and mom were out of sight, Hotch turned his attention on him. "What's up?"

Rossi smiled. "You two were made for each other…"

"Yeah," Hotch agreed, throwing a look over his shoulder.

Something Hotch had said from before suddenly popped into his mind. "Grand central station?"

"Oh," Hotch replied, grimacing suddenly. "Morgan came over, unexpectedly, earlier tonight. He was pretty upset with Emily. We called her over to talk to him. They only left about an hour ago."

"He was upset… with Emily?" he asked suspiciously. "Do you know what about?"

"I didn't ask, it isn't my business."

"Do you know if they worked it out?" Rossi continued agitatedly.

His friend frowned. "I'm not sure. JJ and I stayed out of the way. What's with the twenty questions, anyways?"

Rossi didn't answer; he started for the door instead. He had to make sure that she was all right. He'd screwed up royally; he wanted to make sure that that hadn't extended to Emily.

"Hey, what's wrong? Where are you going?" Hotch questioned, following after him.

"Sorry, Hotch," he answered. "I've got to check on something that I forgot about. I'll take a rain-check."

He opened the door. "Rain-check?" he heard Hotch call out. "Rain-check on what?"

Rossi was well down the path when heard the door shut. His mind was racing with possibilities as to why Morgan was upset with Emily. One was Elizabeth Prentiss's cryptic words at the bar about planting the seed of doubt in the younger agent's mind. Combine that with Derek's behavior at Hotch's house a week before and Hotch's news today, things did not look good for Emily and Derek.

He needed to get over there and fix things.

* * *

Rossi hit the doorbell just once before the door flew open. The sight of a crying Emily startled him into exclaiming, "Emily! What's wrong? What happened?"

Anger flashed across her face. The next thing he knew she was attempting to shut the door in his face.

"Emily!"

He was quick enough to hold her off, putting a hand on the door. She continued to press on for a moment more, but gave up soon after, turning back into her apartment.

"Just go away, Dave. I don't need you right now. Please, just go."

Dave stood back by the door, watching her back tremble. He was silent with shock, surprised by her obvious pain and distress. Only once had he ever seen her close to breaking down, and this was much worse than the last time. Slowly, he approached her, touching a hand to her shoulder. He flinched when she jerked away abruptly.

"Don't touch me," she said vehemently, whirling around. "This is all your fault!"

Dave held up his hands palms up. He gazed at her with sad eyes. He had a feeling she was right. "What is?" He needed to know what to apologize for first. "What's happened, Emily? Are you hurt?"

When her large eyes started to shine with a new bout of tears, he stepped back.

"Am… Am I hurt?" She nodded her emphatically. "My… my heart it's…"

Oh man, the aching was plain to see on her face. Dave took a step forward, needing to make this right, but not knowing how.

"Don't!" she shouted, when he was but a step away.

Rossi went back to the door, wanting to give her a moment to re-group before he asked her once again what had happened to make her hurt so much. He shut the still ajar door, hoping the neighbors hadn't been listening in. She'd hate that.

"Dave," she pleaded.

"Something happened, Emily," he said gently. "I'm not going to go, leaving you like this. Now, what happened tonight?"

He could see the resignation in her eyes before she spoke. Emily turned around and made her way to the couch. She sat down, drawing her knees up against her protectively. Rossi came to sit in front of her, waiting.

Almost chocking on the words, she finally revealed what was going on. "Derek… Derek… broke up with me…"

Dave recoiled, as if he were just struck in the face. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Even through his obvious pursuit of Emily, he had never truly believed that Derek would be the one to end things.

"It's temporary…" she felt the need to add, bringing him back to the present.

"Are you sure?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. She wasn't; she wouldn't be in tears if she was sure it was.

"Yes," she replied defensively.

"Then why are you crying?"

He watched her open her mouth to reply and then shut it. She did this a couple of times before finally finding the words she wanted. "It is… Why are you here anyways?" She gave him a quizzical look, as if suddenly realizing he was there in her apartment. "This is all your fault, you know. I don't want you here. I don't even like you."

Dave gave her a wry smile. He didn't doubt that. In fact, he wasn't sure he liked himself at the moment. Still, he wasn't the one to cause her pain. It was Derek who'd been the idiot and broken up with her. "Emily, I'm not the one who broke your heart; Derek did."

"You didn't help," she argued. "And like I said, it is temporary."

"Really?"

"Yes," she said again. "I'll prove it."

Dave wasn't sure what she was about to do, but he was thoroughly surprised when she reached for her phone.

"Emily, what are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm calling him." Her voice took on such a determined edge that he knew this was a horrible idea.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Quickly, he tried to grab the phone from her hands, but she pulled away, standing up to get away from. "Emily," he warned.

"Shh…" Her face took on a distant look as she listened in to the other end of the line. "Derek? Derek, it's me…"

Dave stood up, following her as she paced, her face falling by the second. "Wait!" she yelled into the receiver. "Don't go. I need you!"

There was a brief pause of silence, and then she pulled the phone away from her ear. He watched her stare at the phone in shock. "He… he hung up on me…"

He let out a sad sigh, pulling the phone from her hands. "I know, Emily…"

"He… didn't even want… to talk." She began to shake uncontrollably; she was in shock.

Rossi was there, at her side. He put a hand to her shoulder and she let him, she had no more fight in her tonight. "I'm sorry, Emily."

"I… just wanted to talk. That's all. He… he didn't even want to hear my voice," she choked on a sob. "He doesn't love me anymore."

He wanted to assure her that that was not the case. He wanted to tell her that everything would be all right. But all words failed him when she suddenly broke down into a fit of sobs. All he could do was pull her into his arms and hold her close.

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. I hope to have the next update soon. Hope you enjoyed.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and alerting, and thanks to my reviewers: **CriminallyCecy** _(thanks for taking the time to review all the chapters. Malika will be back soon);_ **p95000; and agentracer25.**

Let me know what you think! Thanks!

I've got one last message from Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum:

**THE AWARDS SEASON HAS COMMENCED! Nominations have opened for the third annual Profiler's Choice Awards for Criminal Minds' fandom! Please visit Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum for the nomination ballot, rules and guidelines and category definitions. Please review ALL information BEFORE submitting your nomination ballot. Nomination ballots must be received by October 15, 2012. Fics for consideration must have appeared on the CM section of between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012 (see rules for full details.)**


	18. Taking Her Lead

**A/N:** What? This story is being updated? That's strange… What happened? lol. I know, I'm horrible. I've been meaning to get this chapter down on paper for a while, but just never got around to it. Sorry about that. Anyways, it's done, and I've begun the next chapter, so hopefully that will be up sometime soon.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and that you'll take the time to let me know. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 18: Taking her Lead:**

* * *

Rossi stood in front of Emily's door, shifting from foot to foot, with two bags in hand. He wondered briefly if it was ok for him to be there.

When she'd missed work today, calling in to Hotch and claiming that she was sick, he knew something was up. Emily was never sick. And considering what she'd gone through recently, he thought he knew the truth of the situation. She was hiding out.

It had only been two days since Rossi had found her in such a distressed state, her break-up from Morgan the reason for it. That very night was the night he'd practically stayed over, comforting her as a friend, while the reality of what had happened sunk in. Somehow, he'd felt things shift between them, back to when things had been easier. But, it could have been an anomaly, and, for all he knew, the minute she opened the door she might just throw something at him.

The morning after, he'd left before she'd woken up, knowing that in the light of day she might not just want a witness to her unhappiness.

Even with his uncertainty at his welcome today, he still needed to see how she was doing. And he wouldn't leave until he knew that she was all right physically, at least.

Knocking on the door, Rossi waited patiently for her to answer. After a minute, he realized that she might not be home or, if she was, wouldn't want to be disturbed. However, after another minute of waiting, the door swung open and there she stood.

The door had opened so quickly, he knew that she hadn't checked the peephole before she'd done so. That, and for a brief instant, he saw hope flicker in her eyes, she'd been hoping for someone else. When she registered that it was him standing there and not Derek Morgan, the hope faded quickly and so did the light in her eyes. A general forlorn expression marred her beautiful features then and he cursed Derek's name for causing it.

"Dave," she greeted, voice low, monotone.

He was surprised to hear no hostility in her voice. Rossi hoped that it was because she realized how sorry he was for having played any part in her break-up and not because she'd given up.

"Hey," he replied. "How are you feeling?"

He was content to continue the 'sick' ruse, even though she clearly didn't look ill. But, he reasoned, why fight her on it when she looked upset already. Contrary to popular belief, he did not want to be the source of any heartache in her life.

She gave him a suspicious look—one that said, maybe she hadn't given up just yet—before holding the door open for him. He took it as invitation to come in, keeping the surprise off his face. They were friends, after all.

Emily shut the door, letting out a sigh. "I'm not sick, Dave…" she said, letting that statement trail off as if to say, 'well, not physically, at least….'

He nodded his head in understanding, but didn't question her further. "I guess chicken soup is out then?" he asked.

He held up the bagged container of the stuff, its aroma wafting in the air. The label on the bag let her know exactly where it'd come from.

"From Joe's?" she questioned rhetorically. It was her favorite. "_Gimme_!"

Rossi enjoyed her exclamation of delight, chuckling as she abruptly de-soup-ed him. When she hurried around the corner to her kitchen, he held back a moment, just relieved that her spirit hadn't been totally crushed by Derek.

After a second more, he followed her into the open kitchen. She was already pouring the thick chunky soup into two bowls when he came around. Emily surprised him by putting a bowl in front of him, too. He took it as his cue to take a seat at one of her island stools.

Without any words, Emily came around and joined him on the stool next to him. For several minutes, they sat there together in silence; the only sound heard was the sound of soup being sipped from their spoons.

Rossi wanted to talk, he wanted to ask her how she was doing, but he decided he'd take her lead. Whatever she wanted to do was all right by him. He was all about not causing her any more pain.

Still, he threw her surreptitious looks of concern when he thought she wasn't looking.

Just as he'd hoped, it was Emily to break the quietness. "Thanks," she said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

He dragged his gaze from his soup bowl to see that she was watching him with a confused look on her face. Returning her look with a warm smile of his own, he hoped to convey many things in that one look. How sorry he was… How mad he was that she'd gotten hurt… How much he cared about her… He could have said all those things, but words would just make the moment too heavy… they needed some lightness.

"Well, that's not all I have for you," he said cheerfully. He picked up the other bag he'd brought with him and pulled out his other _gift_.

Her eyes lit up. "Scrabble?" she laughingly asked.

"Yeah," he replied, grinning. "I thought it would be fun to play for once sans Dr. Reid."

She smiled then, too. "All right… I'd like that…"

* * *

"Zeugma?" Emily looked down at the board incredulously. "No way! No, that is not a word."

Rossi nodded his head adamantly. "It is. I swear, it's a real word," he contradicted. "_Zeugma_." He said it as if it was the most obvious word in the world.

She sat back against the couch; arms crossed over her chest, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Use it in a sentence then."

Rossi inwardly blanched at the idea, he had no idea what it meant. He'd seen Reid use it in a game before, that's the only real reason why he even knew it was a word. _Come to think of it… _He looked down at the board, eyeing it curiously, he wasn't even sure that was the correct spelling. _Oh well…_

"Ok. He _zeugma-ed_ his way home."

Emily laughed heartily at that. "You just replaced zoomed with zeugma-ed." Laughing still, she suddenly got up off the floor and went to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" he asked suspiciously.

She threw him a mischievous grin. "We need a dictionary and I don't own one, so I'm calling Reid."

"No!" he exclaimed.

"Until I know for sure that it's a real word, you aren't getting those points, you landed on a triple word score," she denied, picking up the phone.

"All right, all right, I give," he said quickly. "I stole it from the kid…"

He gave her a sheepish look which had her chuckling again.

Setting up around her living room coffee table, they'd been playing for the past hour. They'd been neck in neck in points, until this moment. He'd just out-scrabbled her. But that didn't matter to him. What mattered was that for the last sixty minutes she had not frowned once.

Rossi was more than a little pleased to find that after dealing with a strained relationship for the past month that they could fall back into their friendship so easily.

"Aw man, that still means you won," she lamented, as she came back to sit across from him.

"I guess it does," he said smugly. "I zeugma-ed you!"

Mock rolling her eyes at him, she said, "If you're going to use it you need to at least learn what it means."

He shrugged his shoulders in answer.

The game over, the pair of them set to work at cleaning up the pieces. It didn't take them long and the minute they were done they sat back into a weighty silence.

He was sure they had the same thing suddenly on their minds. They needed to talk, of course, but once again he really didn't want to say anything that would potentially ruin their tenuous truce. Thankfully, Emily spoke up first, again.

"I didn't want to face him today," she confessed, not meeting his eye.

"I know," he said simply. He didn't have to ask who 'him' was. He knew.

She let out a sigh. "I just … I just I can't believe we're done. After all it took for us to be together, I can't believe he would just end things."

"I'm sorry, Emily," he offered.

She lifted her head up abruptly to give him a shrewd glance, weighing his sincerity in that one look. The thing was he was sincere.

It didn't matter how much he wanted her, how much he wanted to be with her, not if it hurt her. Still, he was sure he had.

"I know you are," she conceded. And then with a huge exhaled breath, she added, "And I know you care about me, but I love him. I'm not sure when I'll be ready to move on."

"Emily," he said slowly, bottling his hope for now. "I hope you know that that's not why I'm here tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. That's all… I mean, yes, I care about you, but I just wanted to be that same guy you used to talk to. I just wanted to be your friend tonight."

"And in the future?" she asked him, startling him.

He took a moment to answer. "Well," he began dryly. "I haven't exactly made my feelings a secret, now have I?"

"No." She grimaced. "You haven't."

She didn't elaborate and he really didn't want to push, but he still felt he needed to know where they stood.

"Emily, I care for you deeply." She stared at him, her large brown eyes wide. "I know you still love Derek, but I'm willing to wait…"

There, he'd said it.

Her answer was slow to come. "Dave, I care about you, too." The way she said it made it clear to him it wasn't quite in the way he hoped. "I don't know…" She shrugged and looked off to the side. "Maybe in the future… if we were uh to take things slow and you're willing to wait… _maybe_."

He gave her a small smile. "I can deal with a maybe."

She shot him a relieved smile. "Good… all right… um you want to play again?"

Rossi shook his head. "Nah, it's getting late. And _we've_ got work tomorrow…" he said, standing up. She stood up too and together they moved towards the door. Pausing there, he asked, "I will see you tomorrow, won't I?"

She let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, I can't stay away forever, can I?" Her question sounded slightly less rhetorical then probably intended.

"It's a big office…" he tried to assure. "I'm sure you'll be all right."

She shrugged her shoulders. "We'll see."

He nodded his head and moved to open the door.

"Dave," she said his name softly. He turned around to face her and was surprised when she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for tonight."

She was blushing so he didn't make a big deal of the gesture, even though on the inside he was jumping for joy. "You're welcome."

He stepped out of her apartment then feeling like things were finally on the up for him.

* * *

_**~ 3 weeks later ~**_

Rossi sat in his office early that morning, his door open, he kept one eye on the BAU glass doors.

He was waiting for Emily to arrive, eager to see her.

For the past three weeks or so, ever since she'd agreed basically to try with him, they'd been tentatively dating. Things had been just that, tentative, and slow, for the entire three weeks, until last night. Because last night was the first time they'd shared a kiss. He remembered it well. They'd just returned to Emily's apartment, about to say their good nights when she suddenly leaned forward and kissed him. It hadn't been his imagination, he was sure; she'd initiated the kiss. It was short and sweet, but a kiss nonetheless.

And though they'd agreed to keep their new relationship under wraps for now, he just needed to see her. Almost as if he needed to make sure she was real and therefore their relationship was too.

He saw her then, walking towards her desk, looking tired. It, of course, was a Monday, her least favorite day of the week. Rossi quickly got out of his seat, grabbing the white chocolate mocha he'd bought for her from the coffee shop down the street. A little Monday morning treat to show how much he cared.

He reached her desk just as she flopped down into her seat. "Ugh," she exclaimed, putting her head in her arms onto her desk.

"Good morning," he announced cheerfully.

She looked up briefly to glare at him and to no doubt begin her 'what's so good about it?' tirade, but he placed the large cup before her, quieting her instantly. "Is that…" she trailed off in wonder.

"Yep!"

She snatched it up quickly and took a long sip. "Mmm…" she moaned.

He chuckled at her reaction. "Good?"

"You have no idea how much I needed this… what can I do to pay you back?" she questioned gratefully.

"I'm sure I can think of something… want to go out tonight?" he asked.

"Sure," she agreed easily.

"Hey guys," Reid greeted, coming towards his desk.

Emily threw him a panicked look. Dave knew she was wondering if he'd heard Rossi's invitation.

"Morning Reid," Rossi replied, cutting through the tense moment; though, if you asked him Reid seemed oblivious at the moment. Emily didn't have anything to worry about. Besides, Reid was already wise to his feelings for her, something he hadn't quite told her yet.

Reid took his messenger bag off his shoulder, settling it onto his desk-top. "Hey," he said conversationally. "A few of us are going to see a movie tonight…"

"A foreign one?" Rossi grimaced. He had nothing against culture, but enjoyed it most when it was in English.

"Unfortunately the one I want to see is sold out. Layla got tickets to another one, though," the young doctor explained. "This one's in English… Do you guys want to come?"

"Who's going?" Emily asked hesitantly. Rossi could see the wheels turning in her brain.

"Me, Layla, Hotch and JJ, Garcia's bringing Kevin, Morgan—"

"No thanks," she interrupted abruptly. "I've got plans."

Her response wasn't quite a shock to Reid. Everyone knew of the pair's breakup. How could they not know? The tension between Emily and Morgan was a palpable thing.

The young man turned to face him, instead. "How about you, Rossi? Malika will be there."

_Malika…_ An image of the dark haired, exotic looking woman appeared in his mind and he wondered how she was. It had been a month since he'd first met her. He knew he hadn't been fair to her, kissing her only to leave her hanging.

He gave Reid a warning look. He thought they'd agreed to stop bringing her up? It was like he mentioned her name just to make him feel guilty. Reid, in turn, gave him a not so s looking look.

"Who's Malika?" Emily inquired. It wasn't his imagination when he heard suspicion in her voice.

He looked up to see that she'd noticed his reaction. _Crap! Thanks a lot, Reid._

"She's Layla's older sister. Rossi—" Reid began to explain.

"—_I_," he cut him off, "met her once. She's a nice girl. A doctor…"

"I see," Emily finished, not really understanding.

He didn't need Reid messing up their tentative relationship, thank you very much.

"Anyways…" Rossi drew the conversation back to him. "I've got plans too."

"Oh," the young doctor said curiously. "Together?"

Of course he would put two and two together, considering he knew he had feelings for Emily. Still, the next words out of Emily's mouth irked him.

"No, no," Emily denied. "Of course not. I've uh got this thing…"

Her vehemence annoyed him and didn't dissuade Reid either. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"I've got this… other thing," he offered lamely.

"Well, if you guys change your mind…"

He gave them the details and then headed for the break-room, probably to get his own coffee.

Rossi gave Emily an odd look which she didn't seem to notice as she was too busy with her coffee. The thing was her reaction had really bothered him. And he had no idea how to approach it. So, for now, he didn't.

"I should get to work," he said resignedly.

He turned to go, but was stopped by her voice. "Wait." He faced her, seeing that she at least looked nervous all of the sudden. "We're still on for tonight, right?"

Containing his troubled sigh, he said, "Of course."

"All right," she said, nodding her head.

* * *

Emily was distracted tonight, Rossi could tell. Ever since this morning, the conversation with Reid… she'd been off. He had a pretty good idea of what was on her mind, considering he was probably thinking something similar.

It was time, he believed, to reveal their relationship to their friends. At least that's what he thought. But as he thought back to Emily's reaction earlier today, he knew she'd think the opposite.

After paying the restaurant bill, they stepped out together only to brace the chill February night air. Silence surrounded them as they walked the streets towards his parked car. He hated that it wasn't a comfortable one.

He let out a sigh, placing an arm around her shoulders when he noticed her shiver.

"Cold?" he asked unnecessarily.

She glanced at him in surprise, smiling a small smile. "A little…" she offered.

He pulled her a little closer to him, just wanting to feel in sync with her. A flicker of uncertainty flashed in her eyes; she tried to hide it, but it was too late.

"Something wrong?"

Emily looked away quickly to stare straight ahead, a sure sign that something was indeed wrong. Nevertheless, she answered, "Nope, why would there be anything wrong? I've had a great time tonight."

He wanted to call her out on the obviously not-so-truthful answer. Instead, when his mouth got working he found he was agreeing. "Good, me too."

She seemed so lost in thought as they resumed walking. A wistful look was on her face. And for once in his life he wished for the power of telepathy.

"So," he began softly. "What do you want to do? We could go to that movie Reid was talking about." He didn't know what made him suggest it, but once again his mouth was moving without his brain's approval. "The guy's are all going. It could be—"

"No," she cut him off abruptly. "No, I don't want to see it."

He stopped them abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk, much to the dismay of passersby. They stared at each other, both acutely uncomfortable. It was clear to him now that this wasn't a case of not liking Reid's choice in movies, but about a certain seemingly forbidden topic.

Ever since the night he'd found her in tears, they'd not spoken about the cause of them: Morgan. Nonetheless, the man was never far from either of their thoughts. Emily so obviously still cared for him. He'd known this would be the case when they started dating, but it still kind of hurt.

"Emily," he said tentatively.

"Let's not talk about this now, Dave," she stated warningly.

He frowned. "Then when, Emily. They're going to find out sometime. I want them to find out, they're our friends. They'd be happy for us."

"Dave," she pleaded.

Her eyes said it all.

"Ok, scratch that, _most_ of them will be happy for us. This is about _him_, isn't it?" he questioned unhappily.

There, he'd said it. Her whole not wanting the team to know was for the sole purpose of not wanting Morgan to find out about them.

"Dave, please. I don't think I'm ready for anyone to know that we're…that we're…" she seemed at a loss for words.

"We're dating, Emily," he finished for her tersely.

She let out a too sad sounding sigh, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket. She pulled him closer. "I know that, Dave. Look, can't it just be enough that we're together right now? That we're having fun spending time together? Please…"

This is what he'd always wanted, to be with her… So what did it matter if their friends knew about them or not? At least for now…

She leaned up and gave his lips a quick kiss and his demeanor instantly softened. "Ok, I understand. But Emily, you know I care about you, right?"

She gave him a pleased smile. "I know. And thanks, Dave."

* * *

Well that's it for this one. Next chapter will continue with the theme of this one. And if anyone has read Conflicted, well, they know what happens next. Malika will also make a reappearance next chapter. I can't wait for you guys to read it!

Anyways, just wanted to say a quick thanks to anyone who's choosing to continue to read this despite my horrible updating. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed, they're much appreciated: **SunnyInOregon** _(thanks! I'm just happy to know people are reading and enjoying);_ **JenTWCSINYFAN** (_thank you for taking the time to review. Sorry to leave you hanging for so long);_ **p950000; Catulicious; davidrossi** _(don't worry, he'll have a happy ending for sure);_ and **lolyncut.**

I'll try to update soon!


	19. Dishonesty

**A/N:** Hey all! Sorry for the wait. Massive writer's block has kept me from writing pretty much anything lately. It's gone for now and hopefully it lasts. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 19: Dishonesty:**

* * *

Dave unlocked the door to his home before stepping back to allow Emily in first. She gave him a bright smile as she walked past him, slipping off her jacket and hanging it off the railing to the stairs that led to the second floor. She kept going, disappearing from his view as he held back in the foyer.

He opened the front closet and proceeded to hang his own jacket, taking his time.

"I'm glad we decided to stay in tonight," she called from inside the house.

Picking up her coat, he let out a sigh as he began to hang it too. Once done, he shut it behind him and made his way into his open-plan living room/kitchen. There, he found Emily already pulling out the take-out boxes of Chinese that they'd stopped and picked up on their way over.

"I don't know…" he said slowly. "I wouldn't have minded going out with the others."

She didn't spare him a look as she began to spread the boxes across his expensive, Italian-imported coffee table. They'd already had this conversation; in fact, they'd had it numerous times since they had begun dating. He was tired of it, but she continued to hold her ground: that keeping their relationship a secret was the best thing for them right now. Never mind the fact that Reid already knew about it and that Garcia seemed onto them.

Emily stood up and made her way into his kitchen. "Yeah, but this way you get to take in a great movie in the comfort of your own home."

Letting out a groan, he sat down on his sofa and picked up a carton of something. He looked over his shoulder to see her moving around his kitchen pretty effortlessly. He liked the fact that she felt comfortable there. He only wished that she was comfortable outside of it as well. Dave couldn't remember a date with her that didn't somehow involve entertaining her in his house.

She pulled out a couple wine-glasses and poured them two glasses of red wine, before joining him on the sofa. Handing one to him, he immediately took a sip, believing he'd need the alcohol's numbing ability to get him through the next couple of hours.

Grinning from ear to ear, Emily asked, "You ready to watch one awesome movie?"

He couldn't help it, another groan escaped his mouth. "Emily, Twilight and awesome are two things I wouldn't say go together. Do we have to?"

"Hey," she mock protested. "You promised. Besides you wouldn't read the book, so this is the next best thing."

In the past three weeks, he'd learned even more about her, like her questionable obsession with teenage vampire fiction. Practically from day one of being together she'd been harassing him to read some book called The Vampire Academy. Seriously, what was wrong with some plain old mystery, or just regular romance? He could so do something like The Notebook. But, it seemed it had to be vampire related… In the end, they finally compromised on watching Twilight.

Emily gave his arm a squeeze as she stood up to pop the DVD into the player. He made sure to let out another moan of lamentation which she shushed right away. The torture was about to begin.

It was sometime later, about halfway through the movie he'd guess, when Emily moved in closer to his side. His opinion of the movie had yet to change—seriously, why didn't that girl's facial expression ever change? It was painful, as he'd suspected it would be, but as he slowly put his arm around Emily's shoulders, allowing her to snuggle in closer, he decided that he might suffer through more crap movies for moment's like this.

He nearly cursed out loud when a phone suddenly rang, cutting into their moment. She sat up from her reclining position, pulling away from him, and reached for her phone from the coffee table.

"Don't answer it," Dave suggested, pausing the movie anyways.

She gave him a quick, apologetic look. "I just want to see who it is."

He nodded his head, waiting as she tapped the screen to life. Rossi only became curious when her mouth suddenly dropped open in shock.

"Who is it?"

"Uh…" she stuttered. She spared him look that did nothing to put him at ease. "Uh… I have to take this… excuse me."

And just like that, before he could say anything else, she was up and out of sight instantly. He stared after her in disbelief. Only one person, he knew, could set a fire to her like that.

Perturbed, he pushed himself off the couch and started cleaning up the dishes from the coffee table. He suddenly wasn't in the mood so much to curl up on the couch with her and cuddle. It was irrational, he knew, to be angry with her, considering she'd done nothing wrong. But the way she'd just jumped to take the call left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

A few minutes later, he was all done putting the leftovers in the refrigerator and the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. She still wasn't back. Dave retook his seat on the couch, deciding to wait and see what would happen next.

_It's just a phone call,_ he told himself. _It means nothing. Still…_

He turned the movie back on, hoping to get distracted. But his gaze kept darting down the hall in the direction she'd gone. Bella and Edward were definitely not doing the trick. It was another minute or two later when she suddenly reappeared.

Without looking at him, she took her seat silently. It quickly became clear to him that she wasn't about to offer up any explanation.

"Important phone call?" He tried his best to keep the irritation from his voice, watching her closely. He wasn't sure if she would tell him what just happened; if not, he was prepared to read her body language.

She frowned at him, apparently reading his own intentions.

"Sort of," she answered simply.

_Sort of? What kind of answer was that?_

He inhaled a deep breath, hoping to calm himself. But, as he exhaled, he heard the tone of accusation in his voice as he said, "It was Derek, wasn't it?"

"Dave, don't look at me like that," she replied warningly. "He was just calling to tell me his sister's in town."

"Funny, she couldn't tell you that herself?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe she forgot my number."

He let out a hoarse laugh, feeling pretty incredulous at the lameness of her answer. He stopped the movie, getting up to put some distance between them.

"Dave?" Her eyes wide, he could see that she was silently pleading with him to… _To what? _To accept that she was still in love with Derek? To accept her even though she'd never really gotten over her ex-boyfriend?

God knew he'd tried, that he'd wanted to try. He'd told himself that he could make her see that _he_ was the right one for her, not Derek. Dave thought he could make her see that he understood her completely. But, maybe he was kidding himself. Because this, well… he didn't understand this.

Grimacing, he faced her head on. "Still doesn't change the fact that when you saw it was _his_ number you rushed to get away from me and answer him," he said, the hurt he felt seeping into his voice unwillingly.

Dave watched her open her mouth and close it a few times before eventually remaining tight-lipped. _So, that was that?_ He let out a sigh and started to walk away. He just… he needed to get out of there, away from her… To think, to clear his head, he didn't know; all he knew was that a relationship with Emily wasn't turning out the way he'd always imagined it to be.

* * *

An hour or so later into the evening, Rossi sat at the bar of a dimly lit pub he liked to frequent occasionally. The atmosphere of the place certainly suited his mood, all dark and somber. It was a Thursday night, so the place was practically dead, as well. It was the perfect place to consider his life choices… or not.

He gestured to the bartender to pour him another drink. At the rate he was going, he'd be drunk before the night ended something he hadn't been in some time. As much as he loved a good whiskey or scotch, he valued control more. But, tonight, he was all about the alcohol's mind-numbing powers.

He knew he should have been considering everything that had brought him to this point, to being in love with a woman who so clearly didn't love him back. But, it was too depressing. Couldn't he just have a few hours of forgetting? Wasn't he entitled to a few moments of blissful unawareness?

Yeah, he wasn't drunk yet, but he hoped to be soon.

It was just, the more he thought about what had occurred tonight with Emily, the angrier he got. And he didn't want to be mad at her. The phone call, as innocent as it might have been, was just a catalyst to the way he felt about their relationship. Every moment in their short time as a couple had been fraught with uncertainty. It was so very plain to him that Emily was covering up their togetherness as if she were ashamed of him or something. And it hurt. It hurt to know that when he looked at her he gazed upon her with love, but when she looked back at him she didn't feel the same. He'd said to himself that eventually she'd come to love him too. But would she?

That doubt was why he'd left her tonight. He swallowed back a mouthful of dark, burning liquid, forcing himself to forget it all for now.

Happy laughter flooded into his consciousness then. The sound grated against him, not because it was an awful thing to hear, but because it was such a contrast to how he currently felt. He zeroed in on the sound unknowingly and got lost in the melodic, feminine quality of the sound. For a moment he forgot that he was supposed to be depressed and instead wondered at what was so pleasing to the person letting out the sweet sound.

Turning in his seat to investigate the sound, he found himself looking upon a sight that he thought was quite impossible.

_Malika…_

There, just across the room, which wasn't very far really, was Malika. What were the chances? Of all the places he could have chosen to spend the night in, it would be a place where she was at too. It was incredible.

He stared on, as surprised at seeing her as he was by the reaction the sight of her caused within him. She was part of a group of merry-makers: two other women and three men. The feeling of jealousy that seared through him was a revelation. Was she part of a triple date? He suddenly really wanted to know.

She certainly looked like she might have been. Not that he hadn't thought she looked beautiful the one and only time he'd met her, but tonight there was a glow to her. The woman looked absolutely radiant tonight; dressed up in a red dress that hung loosely on top, showing off her shoulders, and ended in fitted, above the knee skirt. From where he sat, her legs seemed to go on for miles.

Totally mesmerized by the sight of her, the haze wore off slightly when one of the three men leaned in closer to her, practically whispering in the brunette's ear. She sat back, tilting her head back as she let out another laugh. She touched the man's arm in a playful gesture. This was so obviously more than just a friendly outing. Dave had been around long enough to know when a woman was flirting.

His stomach twisted suddenly, a painful gut-wrenching feeling shot through him. He wasn't stupid enough to deny what he was feeling just then: jealously, plain and simple. Of course he'd known he'd been attracted to the thirty-one year old when he'd first met her, but somehow he thought that would have went away when he'd started up with Emily. Apparently not, he was so clearly still attracted to her, it was pretty obvious.

Dave told himself to turn away then; it wasn't fair to Malika to have an audience during her date. After they'd shared that kiss she'd given him her number which he had not used. His time was up. And he was… happy that she was out having a life.

So, he still felt something other than friendliness at the sight of the middle-eastern woman, so what? He was with Emily now…

He shook his head at himself. Just as he was about to turn away and return to Malika the anonymity of her evening she was suddenly looking his way. Their eyes met then and he could read the emotions running through her brain from the look in her brown eyes: recognition, incredulity, curiosity.

If he expected to see hurt or maybe anger there in her dark eyes—after all, he'd kissed her and made no effort to see her again—he was sadly mistaken. After the initial surprise at seeing him there, she watched him blankly. No, not blankly. There was some sort of emotion there… confusion? He wasn't one hundred percent sure, though.

She broke her hold on him by looking away. She turned back to the group she was with. For a minute, he believed that was that, she was once again conversing with the man from earlier. But then, to his surprise, she was getting up. And not only that, she was making her way towards him.

He turned around in his seat to face the opposite direction, trying to regain his obviously messed up composure. Dave didn't have time to think on what could possibly happen next, because a mere second later she was taking a seat next to him. Turning, he saw that she was sitting there, a smirk on her face, watching him, her body angled towards him.

She opened her mouth to speak and he braced himself for what might come out of a mouth that he knew could be pretty snarky.

"Hey," she greeted simply.

Caught off guard by her 'normalness' he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Do your parents know where you are?"

"Funny," she said dryly, nevertheless the smirk was firmly in place. "What about you? The way Spencer goes on and on about you… I would have thought you would be knee deep in hostage negotiations…"

He raised an intrigued eyebrow at her. They talked about him? The mere suggestion sent warmth through his body. "You ask about me?"

She chuckled lightly. "Hardly," she replied bluntly. "Poor Spencer seems to have it in his head that I'm head over heels in love with you and that I need reasons for your continued absence from my life…"

Well, that fit a lot better than her wondering after him after one meeting over a month ago. Still, the fact that she didn't, didn't exactly make him happy.

"I see," he said slowly, taking the hit to his ego.

So, Reid hadn't given up on the idea of them together… He'd give the kid points for perseverance that was for sure. But he didn't like the fact that he continued to pester her when she so clearly wasn't into him.

"Well… I apologize for Reid, and…" he began, "… for the whole kissing you and not calling you thing."

She laughed, the sound just as merry as when he'd overheard it before. She leaned her body towards him, touching his hand gently. He enjoyed the softness of her skin on his, probably too much. "Why don't we call it even then," she was saying as he tried his hardest to concentrate on her words, "Considering you sat through an entire night of twenty questions at the hand of my parents."

"I don't know," he managed to get out, smiling. The night was firmly implanted in his memory. What had started out as strange only continued, but it had ended quite memorably, that was for sure. That kiss had most certainly been something. "It definitely had… its moments."

He turned his hand over, feeling her fingers tickle his palm. Her eyes held him in place as she continued to caress him. Dave couldn't put his finger on what intrigued him so about the woman in front of him. All he knew was that, despite his current situation, he still found himself drawn to Malika.

The way she watched him, it was clear to him that she was remembering the way his lips felt against hers, the way he'd made her feel breathless and wanting more. She might not be head over heels in love with him, but she was most certainly attracted to him. And the feeling was undoubtedly mutual.

"Want to get out of here?" he found himself saying.

She eyed him shrewdly, searching his gaze for something, he didn't know what. But a second later she nodded. "Sure, just let me say good night to my friends."

Dave couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked back towards her table. He really couldn't offer her more than tonight and he thought she knew that. She should have probably said no, but really he probably shouldn't have asked her.

Malika reappeared by his side and it was on the tip of his tongue to back out. But she beat him to words first.

"Ready?"

All he could do was nod. There was no backing out now.

* * *

Dave laid his head back on the fluffy pillows, staring up at the hotel room ceiling. The only sound that filled the room was the combined harsh breathing of himself and Malika. She had definitely worked him out that night. He'd need time to recover if they were to go another round. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it had been quite a while since he'd been with a woman, let alone a woman who had him pretty mesmerized.

Leaning up on an elbow, he looked down at the beautiful woman who lay next to him, all tangled up in the sheets, looking an exotic mess. Her eyes met his and a spark passed between them. On second thought, maybe he wouldn't need all that much time to recover…

But, to his surprise, she rolled out of bed quickly.

Shooting her back a quizzical look, he watched on as she began to dress. Did he do something wrong? he wondered to himself. He really had thought that she wasn't angry with him. Maybe she was now, he didn't know.

Kissing her and never calling her back hadn't been the gentlemanly thing to do. Maybe she had forgiven him for that. But now, on their second meeting, he'd practically dragged her to his bed—not that she'd complained; she seemed thoroughly into their night together. She might, though, be having second thoughts about it now. Regardless, she was putting her clothes on awfully fast.

"Malika?" he said softly.

She looked over her shoulder, not saying a word. There was something in her eyes telling him this was exactly where she wanted to be, but at the same time, he could see hesitance as well.

"I didn't think this would be your kind of thing?" Rossi blurted out without thinking, just wanting her to slow down.

She eyed him warily, before slipping her red dress over her head. "What?"

"This… a one night stand," he continued to speak with his foot in mouth.

"Is it?" she said, tone neutral, though her back was to him so he couldn't fully gauge her reaction.

He shrugged in answer knowing full well she couldn't see. He didn't want to answer really, didn't want to fully think about what he'd just done. A big part of him knew that tonight was wrong on so many levels. But another part wanted to pull her back into bed and never let her go. Answering her question meant he'd have to choose which part would win over.

At his apparent silence, she let out a sigh, climbing back into bed to lie next to him. He ran a finger along the side of her face, enjoying how she leaned into his touch, how she watched him closely in anticipation when he touched her.

She really did have the nicest eyes, the cutest nose. She was beautiful.

Her eyes, usually so full of strength he'd come to associate with her, turned soft and thoughtful. "What makes you think this isn't my kind of thing?"

Everything he'd learned about her so far showed him she was witty and smart, definitely not someone to be taken lightly, a force to be reckoned with. She seemed like a person who would do what she wanted when she wanted and not care about what people may or may not think of her. Still, he knew one other fact about her that made him believe she did not enter into any kind of relationship lightly.

"Reid," he began, letting his fingers dance along her shoulder, down her arm and back again. "He said something a while back. I kind of got the impression that he was afraid I'd hurt you."

"Ah… Spencer…" she said wistfully. She pulled away from him, sitting up in bed. She brought one of the many pillows to her chest, as if she were protecting herself. "You know, I met him a while ago, before Layla even knew him."

"You did?" he said in surprise. This was news to him. However, it made sense; Reid and Layla hadn't been dating all that long, not long enough for the genius to get to know Malika's life history.

She nodded. "I was in college and he was on his second PhD. We were in the same philosophy class…"

She paused and he wondered for a moment if she were about to reveal Reid as her source of heartbreak.

"I… I sort of got into it with my Professor," she offered up, not meeting his eyes.

He could tell by 'into it' she didn't mean a fist fight.

"I fell for him, hard. Spencer tried to warn me, that he wasn't a good guy, I didn't listen… I should have." She looked off into the distance, remembering.

"What happened?" he asked gently, reaching for her hand even as his gut told him what would come next wouldn't be good.

"I told him I loved him… It was only a month after his wedding that I find out he'd married his girlfriend of ten years. A girlfriend I'd had no clue about," she finished, voice hard. "Needless to say, I was a mess and Spencer was there for me."

Dave exhaled a breath, feeling acutely uncomfortable. He wasn't a complete bastard, he could see that their current situation had remnants of her past; she just didn't know it yet. He had to tell her. He opened his mouth to say so but she continued on.

"I've never told anyone about that…I… I don't know why I'm telling you," she said in a seemingly rare show of vulnerability. He met her eyes then and he could see something building there for him. Making him feel worse.

"What about you?" she said abruptly, changing the subject. "You were drinking alone tonight… you looked sad."

Here was his chance to explain to her and hopefully make things right. Instead, he said, "My girlfriend's about to dump me for the man she loves."

He could see the color drain from her face instantly, but instead of reacting right away, she echoed, "Girlfriend?"

"Yeah," he answered. Geez, where was his smooth talking ways now? He was at a loss for words.

"I'm… sorry?" she said unsurely.

He let out a sigh. "It's my own fault. I knew she still loved him and I still went after her. I just… I wanted to be with her."

Malika nodded her head. How she wasn't chewing him up and spitting him out, he had no clue. "And now?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

She practically jumped out of bed then. She slipped her feet into her shoes hurriedly. "I'm sorry you're hurting, Dave."

She started for the door and he suddenly felt horrible at the idea of them leaving things this way between them. "Malika!" he called.

Hand on the doorknob, she turned to face him. "I like you, Dave. I do. And that's um saying something from me… but I will _not_ be played the fool again. I… I _won't_."

Her eyes on him, he could see the stern warming there. She did not have time for two-timing bastards, even the confused kind. God, what was he doing?

With that last look, she was out the door a moment later, leaving him there to ponder his actions.

* * *

Well that's it for this one. Just to make things clear, Malika had absolutely no idea that Emily is in the picture. In all her talks with Reid, he's avoided mentioning the fact that Rossi and Emily are involved.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I hope you'll let me know what you think!

Thanks to my two reviewers: **jekkah and Guest.**

I'll try my best to update soon. I'd like to say this one is winding down, but… I'm not gonna lie to you.


	20. The One You Want

**A/N:** Hey all. Sorry for the wait once again. Excuse this time around: Got a temporary contract teaching at my former high school in April. Went into it thinking it would be a piece of cake. Oh man, how wrong I was. Lol. Two more weeks, just two more weeks…

Anyways, this story is winding down. I foresee a total of maybe 3 to 4 more chapters, 5 at most. And then I can start thinking about the Reid companion piece to this that will also most likely feature some Rossi and Malika in it as well. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter and that you'll let me know what you think. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 20: The One You Want:**

* * *

Emily waved her friends off as they started for the conference room. An ardent Monday hater, there was only one thing she couldn't stand more, and that was work on a Saturday. She would need a couple more minutes to gather herself before she'd be able to concentrate on doom and gloom; well, the doom and gloom that wasn't her love life, that is.

Even JJ's momentary distraction of her own relationship woes—the fact that Hailey would forever see her as 'the other woman'—couldn't put her troubles on the backburner. At least JJ truly loved the man she was with and vice versa, that would make putting up with Hailey a piece of cake.

Emily had Dave and she really did care for him. But no matter what she did, she could not get Derek out of her mind. Yes, she cared for Dave, but she _loved_ Derek. And that was the simple truth of it.

However, in this case, the truth did not set her free.

What could she do with this realization? She had no clue how Derek felt. No clue how to deal with Dave… nothing. Nope, in this case knowing what she wanted was getting her nowhere.

Emily let her gaze wander up to the platform; coincidentally, Morgan was making his way towards the conference room. She followed his every movement, unaware that she'd let out a wistful sounding sigh in the process. _Where did we go wrong?_

As if sensing her eyes on him, he looked her way, a considering look on his face as his gaze lingered; she quickly averted her gaze like an embarrassed teenager.

_God, I miss him…_

Turning back around in her seat, she was ready to crawl into a hole and wait for the Apocalypse before coming back out. Maybe then she'd have the answers to her problem.

She was just about to get up when the sight of Dave coming through the BAU glass doors caught her attention. The sight of him sent mixed feelings through her. Hurt and confusion, as she relived the night before, how he'd just left her. Warmth and affection, as she remembered all the times he was there for her, all the good times they'd shared as friends and otherwise. Longing, because she felt like the Grand Canyon separated them right now and all she wanted was her best friend back.

The hurt and confusion won over, dominating her thoughts. Emily had waited for him to return last night, wanting to explain things to him even without knowing what words to use. She'd wanted a chance, at the very least. And he hadn't given her that; he hadn't come back, at least not in the hours she had waited.

All she wanted now was to know why.

His eyes met hers a second later, halting him in his steps. His gaze took on an unfamiliar, wary look before he started on his way again. She watched, incredulously, as he went right past her towards the stairs.

Her face fell. So, he was still angry at her.

"Dave?" she called across the bull pen.

She stood up and hurried after him when he didn't immediately respond; catching up, he reluctantly turned at the foot of the steps to face her. "Yes?" he questioned detachedly.

She recoiled at his impersonal-ness, as if he'd just slapped her. "That's all you have to say to me?" she replied, pain seeping into her voice.

"What do you want me to say, Emily? We're at work, we can't get into anything right now," Dave answered, looking exasperated, but something else at the same time. Something she couldn't name.

"Fine," she argued. "Name a time and place." She wasn't giving up that easily.

He sighed, seeming to take in her determined demeanor; relenting, he offered, "Lunch, if we get a chance?"

She paled. She'd made plans to meet Desiree Morgan then. "I… uh, I can't."

He frowned. "Later, then," he said tersely, going on his way.

_Damn it,_ she mentally swore. She watched him go, her mind a total blank as to how to make any of this better.

* * *

Rossi entered the conference room quickly, taking a seat between Reid and Hotch. It was a cowardly move, he knew but he needed the buffer while he tried to sort through all these conflicted feelings he was having. On the one hand, he cared for Emily deeply; on the other, he was sure he liked Malika quite a bit…

At this very second he had no idea what he was going to do with that bit of information, or even where he stood with the profiler-brunette. Talking to her, just now, had been more than a little awkward. On the one hand, he'd felt guilty for what he'd done the night before. And, once again, on the other, he just felt angry that she still harbored feelings for her ex.

Looking down at the case file before him, Dave knew the instant she walked into the room; he acutely avoided eye contact, but saw her take the empty seat next to Derek. It was irrational, but it just made him even more annoyed.

Hotch nodded to JJ once they were all settled. "Let's get started."

JJ stood up, taking her position in front of the monitor, clicking her remote as gruesome images appeared on the screen. "This is Diane Miller, Katy Smith, and Janelle Kripke…" Three brunette women, badly beaten appeared on the screen. "All were found dead in their homes… no sign of forced entry…"

"Cause of death?" Reid asked.

"Each woman was beaten, but the coroner found that their lungs were filled with water," she answered.

"They were drowned," he added unnecessarily.

JJ nodded, looking grim. "In their bathtubs. So far, the only thing connecting the three women is their hair color and the fact that they live in D.C. Diane was a lawyer, Katy a waitress, and Janelle was a student at Trinity Washington…"

"He's killing every four days; the police have no leads, and with Janelle's death three days ago, we're running out of time…" Hotch laid it all out. "Reid, I'd like you to start coming up with a geographical profile; Morgan, Prentiss, I'd like you to interview Janelle's roommate, Lisa Adams… why wasn't she at home three days ago? Is there any way the un-sub could have known she wouldn't be home? We need to know how he's choosing his victims…"

Dave hadn't heard much after Hotch had said Morgan and Prentiss. It had been quite a while since he'd paired the former couple together during a case. He wondered why his friend had changed things up.

"Dave?" Rossi looked up, startled to see Hotch throwing him a pensive glower. Looks like he'd been trying to get his attention for a bit…

Hotch opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. "You're with me… we'll comb over the lives of the previous victims. There's a connection there, we're just missing something."

Rossi nodded absently. Yeah, he'd be better off in a precinct than out there right now.

"JJ, I'd like you to set up a press conference urging vigilance…"

Once again, he tuned his friend out; his eyes drifted over to the brunette in this room. Emily was shifting nervously in her seat. So, she'd noticed Hotch's adjustment as well. He turned to look at Derek; he seemed just as calm and collected as usual. Did anything faze him?

Looking back at Emily, he found her eyes on him again. There was a pleading look there. He couldn't shut her out forever, he knew. She was sorry for hurting him, he could tell, but he just needed a little time to figure all this out.

Averting his eyes once again, he knew he was hurting her all over again.

* * *

Rossi sat in the precinct's conference room, sifting through files, trying to find some sort of connection between the victims of the case they were working. So far, all they had was that they all had dark hair and lived in the same city, Washington D.C.

But his thoughts kept wandering. He couldn't help but think of Emily, how she'd looked at him this morning with aching and guilt in her pretty brown eyes. He'd felt angry and guilty himself. The difference was his indiscretion wasn't public knowledge, which made him feel all the worse. And after last night, he just didn't know how to face her anymore.

He'd slept with another woman. There Emily couldn't match him. He was pretty sure she hadn't cheated on him. No, she was only in love with another man. But, even _that_ he could blame on himself.

What would have happened if he'd backed off for a bit, if he'd allowed her her space while getting over Derek? What if he'd just offered her his shoulder to cry on and nothing more? Could they have found their way to each other and now be enjoying a more stable, healthy relationship? He'd never know. Instead of letting her get over Morgan, he'd swooped in and made his move. And now he was paying the price for his impulsiveness. Not only was he sure to lose Emily, a fact he was coming to accept, he was also sure that Malika would never agree to seeing him after the stunt he pulled last night.

He let out a sigh, dropping the file he held onto the table to rub at his eyes. This was hopeless, his mental state and current situation, both.

"You got something?" Hotch wanted to know.

Startled, he looked up to see his friend watching him carefully. Dave shook his head.

"Maybe you should take a break, clear your head," he suggested astutely. "Or we can talk about it?"

Grimacing broodingly, he wanted to shake his head and turn down his offer. They didn't have time for either and yet his head would not get in the game. "Women troubles," he offered grimly after a moment's thought.

He didn't miss the slight twitch of Hotch's lips. The man was about to smile at his misfortune. He shot his friend a daring glare that curtailed the almost smile, at least for the moment.

Hotch coughed, covering up his slip. "Women troubles? As in more than one?" Hotch asked disbelievingly. Despite his cautioning look, Hotch was on the verge of a smirk.

"Yes!" he answered in a warning tone. It wasn't like what Hotch was thinking. He cared for both Malika and Emily. He wasn't playing either of them. At least, he didn't think he was.

"Ok, so I'm assuming one of them is Ariel, who's the other?"

_Ariel?_ Now there was a name he hadn't heard in a while. After breaking up with her, she'd left him alone. "Uh no… Ariel and I were over a long time ago, around Christmas."

Hotch's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, then who _are_ you having trouble with?"

Dave opened his mouth to explain when JJ suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Hotch," she interrupted. "I just got off the phone with a woman who thinks she knows our un-sub. A Joan Horton… she thinks she's in danger."

And that was that, it was back to the case at hand. His troubles had to be put aside for now. Too bad, he'd hoped to get some advice from Hotch. He seemed to have his life figured out.

"Let's get Derek and Reid over there; I call Emily, too…"

* * *

Emily had a mere millisecond to think just before the object swung at the side of her head. She was surprised at the amount of things she was able to comprehend in that millisecond. _Poor Joan Horton… _she thought, sadly. _Oh shit,_ was a prominent thought. And _Damn it, I should have waited for back up,_ was right up there with _Oh shit_. But, after the blunt object made contact with her soft face and a foot found its way into her abdomen, her mind went totally and completely blank.

For a few agonizing moments, she had no clue who she was, where she was, or what the hell she was doing there, wherever there was, in the first place. The only thing she did know at that moment was pain, a whole hell of a lot of pain.

When a hand grabbed at her ankle and began to pull, that's when she knew she had to work her way out of the pain induced haze and figure out what was going on.

Slowly, it came back to her. Hotch had phoned her. She'd been having lunch with Desiree. Emily had driven over to Joan Horton's house… and instead of waiting for back-up she'd gone inside only to find Joan Horton dead on the floor in her bathroom. And now it seemed she was about to suffer the same fate if she didn't pull herself tougher and fast.

Emily kicked her leg out, trying to loosen her attackers hold, but the man was too strong and he'd weakened her with the blow to the head and gut. He was dragging her to the bathtub.

_Derek!_ her mind screamed at her. _That's right,_ she thought frantically. _He's on his way._ Struggling against the pulling, she managed to pull her phone from her pocket and hit number one on the speed dial.

"Let go of me!" she screamed. "Let go."

Emily's only hope now was that Derek was close and would get here in time to save her.

* * *

Rossi rushed into the waiting room, searching for faces he knew. The nurses on the main floor had directed him there, after rushing into the hospital, leaving JJ and Hotch in his dust. He couldn't believe this was happening.

After getting the tip, Garcia was able to figure out that their probable un-sub was one Craig Foreman, a man with a long and troubled past with women. They'd jumped into action pretty quickly after that. He, JJ and Hotch, along with a half dozen SWAT member, swooped in on the un-sub's residence, only to find it empty. What they did find was surveillance style photos of the previous victims as well as a few women they didn't know about. There was no doubt about it, they had their guy.

Before they'd left, Hotch called up Morgan to see the status of their task, meeting Emily at Ms. Horton's house, and that's when they received the grim news.

Apparently, Emily had gotten there first. She'd found Horton already dead, and Emily a shoe-in for the un-subs victims, also got attacked. Luckily, Reid and Morgan got there in time, but she'd still gotten hurt in the process.

Rossi found Reid, Garcia, and a woman who resembled Derek in the waiting room, all looking more than a little worried. He approached them quickly, demanding, "Where is she?"

"Rossi," Garcia started nervously. "She's ok, she's—"

He just wanted to see her. "_Where?_"

Frowning, Garcia wordlessly led the way down a corridor to a room at the end of the hall. Stepping into the doorway tentatively, his eyes zeroed in on his girlfriend's pale form, lying prone on the bed. There were bruises on her forehead and around her neck.

The sight of the purple and black marks around her delicate throat sent a gut-wrenching, guilty feeling through him. He'd been happy when they hadn't been paired together. And now, because he hadn't been with her, this had happened. She'd been strangled! This was his fault entirely.

He stepped inside the room, needing to be by her side, needing to protect her now, even though he'd failed her when it counted most. It was then that he noticed the other person in the room.

Derek sat to Emily's right. He had hold of her hand and his head rested against the bed, so that he didn't notice Dave right away. He moved to her left and that's when Derek looked up to glare at him, to send him a look that seemed to say, 'how dare you intrude on our moment?'

Not to be deterred by a mere look, Dave took Emily's free hand in his, it was as much to comfort himself as it was to spite the younger man.

"What happened?" he questioned shortly. Morgan and Reid were supposed to meet her at the house. She was never supposed to go in alone.

Morgan shook his head. "I don't know. She was supposed to wait for us, but she went in alone. We were on our way… when she phoned me… Rossi, man, she was screaming! He was killing her…" The man trailed off as his voice faltered on his words.

So, she'd phoned Derek for help. It made sense; Derek had been on his way already. He was the logical choice. And yet, at the same time, he thought he wouldn't have felt this hurt if she'd called Reid instead.

It was a stupid and petty feeling, he knew. All that really mattered was that she was alive. He needed to focus on that.

"… She wasn't breathing. I… I had to do CPR," Morgan finished a few moments later.

_Oh, Emily…_ he thought sorrowfully.

As if hearing his thoughts, her eyes began to flutter open. Minutes later, she peered out at the ceiling with heavy eyes.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," Morgan greeted gently.

She turned her head to face him, looking unsure. "Derek?" she said, voice hoarse.

He smiled at her. "Don't talk. The doctors said your throat would be sore for a bit."

Emily didn't heed his advice. Dave watched on as she lifted her fingers out of Derek's grasp, only to touch the man's face in a tender gesture. "Thank you, Derek," she managed to get out. Derek took hold of her fingers, bringing them to his lips, before holding them firmly once again. She eyed him with such love in her eyes. How could he ever compete with that? How had he ever thought he could? He could never win her love when it was obvious she'd already given her whole heart to this man.

Even so, she was still his girlfriend right now. He cleared his throat, getting her attention. "Dave," she said in surprise and a little embarrassment, if the color in her cheeks said anything.

"Emily, I am so sorry," he said wholeheartedly. "I wasn't there for you. I'm so sorry you got hurt. I can't believe I almost lost you."

She looked at him with sad eyes, about to respond when Morgan beat her to it.

"I was there._ I_ got there just in time," he said, voice hard.

He glanced at the man, startled by his vehement tone. It was then that he realized he'd inadvertently revealed their relationship.

_Well, so what? He'd broken up with her. He'd given her up so willingly._ Dave had only wanted a chance to show her how special she was.

Dave was about ready to give the man a piece of his mind, fed up with keeping his mouth shut. He'd had just about enough of Derek Morgan and his jerking around of Emily.

Except he didn't get a chance to, because the next moment Garcia was suddenly exclaiming, "Hey, you're awake!" She was standing in the doorway. "She's awake," she called down the hallway.

Derek and he shared one last look that seemed to say 'later' before the room suddenly became very crowded.

The three of them would figure out what to do. But for now, Emily needed to get better.

* * *

Dave made his way down the halls of the hospital. He was so glad Emily was all right, relieved beyond words. But the fact that she was alive and well didn't change the fact that he'd failed her when she'd needed him most, that he wasn't there to protect her. It didn't change the fact that he'd cheated on her or that he was starting to wonder if he was right for her at all.

"Dave," a voice called behind him.

He turned around, shocked to see that it was Derek who'd called him. He looked particularly unhappy, which wasn't surprising at all considering they'd been hiding their relationship from him.

"Emily?" he questioned, worried for a moment.

Derek shook his head. "She's fine, she's asleep."

"Oh," he said lamely.

When the man didn't continue he turned to go again.

"How long, Rossi?" Morgan asked tersely.

He let out a sigh, turning to face the angry man. "Officially, about a month."

"And unofficially?" Morgan wanted to know.

"Nothing happened while you two were together," he explained. At Morgan's snort, he added, "Well, I kissed her once and she pushed me away, Derek."

"Yeah, but she's with you now," his colleague stated grudgingly.

Rossi let out a sigh. He closed the distance between the two of them. He couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"Derek," he began, as the younger profiler continued to eye him suspiciously. "Yes, she's with me right now. But, she _never_ stopped loving you. Emily still loves _you_…"

He still wasn't sure Derek deserved her. But he wasn't so sure he did either. What he realized now was that none of that mattered. All that did matter was what Emily wanted, or rather who. And he knew it wasn't him.

"Did she tell you that?"

"She didn't have to, I can tell," Rossi finished.

He could see that Morgan was having a hard time believing this.

"That's all I have to say." Rossi turned to go, but paused in his steps, throwing over his shoulder. "Actually, one more thing. You're an idiot if you don't do anything with what I just told you…"

And then he was off.

* * *

That's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed. I will try my best to update soon. Two more weeks, just two more weeks… lol.

Thanks to anyone who's been reading. And thanks to my reviewers: **agentracer25; Starrmyst; and davidrossi.**


	21. Love Isn't Enough

**A/N:** Hey all. Sorry for the wait; hope someone is still reading this… Anyways, this chapter involves quite a bit of overlap with For You, Always and Conflicted. Namely, chapter 12 of FYA and chapter 11 of Conflicted. Hope you all enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 21: Love Isn't Enough:**

* * *

_**~ 1 month later ~**_

"Here we are," Dave announced as he and Hotch exited his truck.

They stood there, on the curb, gazing up at the jewelry store façade. When Hotch had come to him and asked for his help in picking out a ring for JJ, he was more than flattered. He was glad to be included in this momentous occasion. Though, he didn't think he'd be dealing with a basket-case instead of his best friend. Hotch was seriously pale and looked like he wasn't breathing.

"Hotch, you've got to relax, take a few deep breaths," he said in alarm. He'd never seen the man like this before, on the verge of a major panic attack. "Are you sure you want to do this today?"

The normally composed Unit Chief gulped down the recommended air, throwing him a green look. "Yes, I'm sure… Only… you don't think it's too soon? We've only been dating for five months."

He nodded. "Yeah, five months is a short time…" Still, compared to some of the relationships he had been in it was ancient. Anyways, the length of time didn't matter… "But… how long have you cared for her?"

Hotch let out a longing sigh, probably unbeknownst to him. "Forever."

Eyeing the love-struck look on his face, Dave managed to hold back a big grin. His friend had it bad.

"Well there, see," he finished simply. "Let's go inside."

Hotch nodded, still looking queasy, but followed him inside nonetheless.

"Thanks for helping me out, Dave."

He grinned. "I _do_ have much more experience with this," he kidded. He would have added a more serious comment about how he was honored to be asked, but a salesperson had just pounced upon them. And it looked like his friend was jelly again.

"Can I help you, sir?" The man seemed to know to aim his question at him instead of Hotch.

"Yes, my friend, here, is looking to buy an engagement ring," he replied while patting Hotch on the back.

The salesman brightened considerably. "An engagement ring! Right this way." He led them to the farther end of the store, gesturing to a wall-to-wall glass showcase. "This houses all our engagement rings. Just point at the ones you like."

Dave glanced at his friend for guidance; after all he was the one who'd know best what JJ would like. But the younger man's face was a complete blank. He was clearly overwhelmed.

"Let's start with your princess cut diamonds," he announced. "And we'll go from there."

* * *

Rossi smiled as he watched Hotch stare down at the ring he'd chosen after three hours of searching. He had to admit, the guy had held out for a pretty perfect ring. Too bad about his grumbling stomach, though. Luckily, they'd decided to do lunch before parting ways.

"It's very nice, isn't it?" Rossi mused.

Still staring at the ring, he answered, "Yeah, it is." He looked up, smiling. "Thanks again for coming with me, Dave. I think I was ready to pass out…uh, don't tell anyone that."

He chuckled. It seemed that no matter how right you were for each other, taking the next step was a big deal. "I won't and you're welcome."

Hotch went back to gazing at the ring. "Now I just have to figure out how to ask her. Any suggestions?"

Dave grimaced. His experiences with matrimony weren't the best ones to model after. Asking his three wives had been easy; it had been just as easy to divorce them, too.

"Not sure my experiences would help much," he offered. "My first two wives, we happened to be in Las Vegas. And they were the spur of the moment kind of proposals." More like drunk proposals, he kept to himself. After that the weddings had taken forever to plan for. Too bad the marriages hadn't lasted very long; one and three years, respectively.

Hotch chuckled. "And the third?"

He smiled, remembering Lily. She was beautiful, and oh so kind. He was convinced that they'd still be together if he'd bought into her 'save the world' dream. Lily wanted to travel the world, going from one impoverished country to another, doing what she could. He wanted to do what he could, too, just starting with home first. A few years after they'd divorced, he'd found out she'd died from cancer, still doing her thing as best she could till the last minute.

Their lives together had a tragic end, but it hadn't started that way. "We were on vacation, in Mexico. We decided it was the perfect place to get married. Our wedding was planned and carried out in a span of three days."

"I see. Well, I don't think we'll be in Vegas or Mexico anytime soon. So, I guess I'll have to settle for the old getting down on one knee thing."

Lost in memories, he responded absently, "Guess so…"

They went silent for a second, each caught up in their own thoughts. Hotch, probably with how he would propose; he, thinking about his three failed marriages.

"So, what about a fourth?" Hotch asked, catching him off guard.

He stared with wide eyes at his completely serious friend. "A fourth marriage?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Don't you think you'll ever try again? Don't you want kids?"

Did he? After Lily, he didn't think he'd ever find another woman so perfect for him. And when he'd heard that she'd died, he'd hardened himself to the prospect of ever marrying again. _Until Emily… _

"Kids?" he exclaimed. "Don't you think I'm too old for kids?"

Hotch shrugged his shoulders. "Not if you want them."

Kids? Honestly, he'd never thought of having children of his own. Jack and Henry were fun to be around, but when they started to fuss he knew he could just give them back to their parents. His own would be a different story.

"Ah… well… there's no one in the picture right now," he brushed off.

It had been almost two months since Emily…

Hotch frowned. "What about that redhead you brought to the Christmas party, what was her name?"

"Ariel didn't work out," he stated flatly. She was old news by now, but he realized that Hotch wouldn't know just how much had gone on since her. His brief relationship with Emily was still a secret from most of the team.

"Why not? She seemed nice and intelligent enough," Hotch asked, genuinely perplexed.

Yeah, if he knew that she'd used him as an in for a story on Reid, he'd probably not think she was so nice. Instead of saying just that, he opted for a more cryptic, on the truthful side answer. "I don't know. I guess there was someone else…"

"Someone else?"

He babbled something about how nothing really happened and that the person in question was unattainable. But in reality, he'd had her, Emily, and he'd let her go…

* * *

_Rossi knocked on Emily's apartment door, shifting almost nervously from foot to foot. He hadn't been there today, when she was discharged from the hospital. A book signing had kept him away. She'd made him swear to keep it, not wanting her recovery to interfere with everyone else's everyday life. So he'd gone. Only to feel awful the entire time._

"_Hey," she greeted warmly, when the door swung open._

_He took a moment to gauge her mood. Emily looked genuinely happy to see him. Things were strained between them of late, partly due to the fact of her clear feelings for Morgan, and his own conflicted feelings over Malika; he'd yet to tell Emily about their encounter, it was an invisible load weighing down upon them that only he knew of. But there was something else weighing upon them, too. It was almost like they were drifting…_

"_Hi. I come bearing gifts," he stated, holding up bags. "Dinner."_

_She quickly ushered him inside, guiding him straight for her dining room. Together, they spread the cartons of Chinese across the table in a companionable silence. It wasn't until they were sitting down, eating, that he decided to speak up his concern._

_"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you today," he said regrettably, noting the new dark circles under her eyes._

_She smiled a sad smile. "Hey, I said it was ok," she paused. "It's not like I'm really hurt or anything."_

_He hated that she brushed it all off; it was the most terrified he'd been in his life and she brushed it all away. Like nearly being drowned to death was routine, everyday stuff._

_"Emily, you could have _died_."_

_She grimaced. "I know, but I didn't."_

_"Yeah, thanks to him," he murmured petulantly. _

_It was stupid, but he still couldn't get over the fact that she'd called Morgan for help first. Instead of choosing to have that conversation, she chose to ignore his comment. It frustrated him to no end._

_"Thanks for the Chinese food," she deflected_

_"It was the least I could do," he said, trying his best to stifle his irritation._

_Silence followed. Uncomfortable, painful silence, where they each darted wary glances at each other._

_He felt her eyes on him. "So…" she tried. "How was the book signing?"_

_"There were no crazy fans, if you're asking." He gave her a small smile. "I think it's pretty clear to them who my heart belongs to now."_

_He watched her blush brightly. He had dedicated his latest book to her, his number one fan. Now he wondered if that had been a move akin to tattooing his undying love for her on his arm. He wasn't sure._

_"So…" she faltered. "It went… good, I take it."_

_Dave nodded again. _

_Quietness settled over them once again. He chanced a glance at her; he could see the mounting frustration on her face. He couldn't help the way things were. It, them, just didn't feel the same anymore._

_Rossi saw the moment where she was just done, right before she blurted out, "Derek, can we just—" _

_She cut herself off abruptly, covering her shocked mouth with a hand._

_He watched her for a moment, speechless. That was it. He had to do it. If he didn't now, they'd only go on to making each other miserable and then there'd be no chance whatsoever to salvage a friendship._

_"I'm sorry, Dave. I don't know why—I didn't mean to—"_

_His sigh brought her to a halt. He stood up, turning towards the door._

_"Dave, what are you doing? Where are you going? I said, I didn't mean to call you—"_

_"Derek?" he questioned. "I know. But you did, and that tells me something."_

_She shook her head emphatically. "It means nothing. I saw him today; I guess he was just on my mind."_

_That was most certainly an understatement. "He's been on you mind for a while, hasn't he?" he inquired. Not unkindly. He was just tired of denying the inevitable. "I'd say since before the attack, at least. Actually, he probably hasn't been off your mind the whole time we were together."_

_Her mouth dropped open; he could see tears in her dark eyes. "That's not fair."_

_"Emily, don't worry. I'm not mad." He had absolutely no right to be angry. Sad, maybe, but not angry. "I knew what I was getting into when I pursued you. I took this chance. I'm just sad that we couldn't make this work."_

_She took a step towards him. "Dave, all I did was say his name," she stated pleadingly. "Are you… are you breaking up with me over a silly mistake?"_

_"No, I'm breaking up with you because I care about you—love you, actually."_

_He realized he did. But sometimes, love just wasn't enough._

_"I—" She shot him a confused look._

_"I'm breaking up with you before I get even more invested in this. I'm avoiding the pain later on when you leave me for Derek."_

_"Dave…"_

_"I understand, Emily. You never did stop loving him."_

* * *

They were together now, he knew. Just got back from a Hawaiian vacation, too. He was happy for Emily. He only ever wanted her happiness.

"Unattainable, how?" Hotch interrupted his thoughts.

"She has someone else… someone she really… loves…"

"I'm sorry, Dave," his friend said slowly, digesting this news.

"Yeah, me too."

They sat in silence for a bit. The waiter came and went. And then Hotch blurted out, "Wait, wasn't there two women?"

"Huh?"

"The Foreman case, you mentioned something about having troubles with two women. What about the other woman?"

The other woman: _Malika._ Oh man, that was another whole can of worms. He had not spoken to her since they'd slept together. And even Reid had stopped hinting at her. Either she'd told him what he'd done or he'd gotten a hint that she hated him.

_Or… maybe she's moved on with someone much better for her than an old bastard like me,_ he thought harshly.

"Over, too?" Hotch guessed, frowning. "Dave, I know you have a reputation, but this is ridiculous!"

"It's not over exactly. Technically, it never really began," he defended.

"Do you like her?"

"Yes," he said simply. Then, "Very much. But I've gone about everything all wrong with her. It's pointless to even think about her."

He'd hurt her. She hadn't forgiven him for it. He was sure.

"Do over."

"Excuse me?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Dave," Hotch informed him. "Talk to her. I'm sure she can be reasonable. For God's sake, I want to be present for one of your weddings. Preferably your last."

He chuckled. "I don't know… maybe…" he said, still unsure.

"What could trying hurt?"

"My pride, my ego, certain organs below the waist…"

Hotch winced. "You messed up that bad?" Rossi nodded. "Well, whatever, second chances were invented for a reason."

_A second chance with Malika… That would be a dream… _

He could still remember their first meeting:

"_Am I in the right place, the Sayid residence?"_

_"Son of a— I knew it! Layla, Spencer, I'm going to kill you!"_

It still put a smile on his face.

He looked up, seeing Hotch smiling knowingly at him. He decided to change the subject, or rather, put it back on track.

"Speaking of second chances…" he started. "You've managed to deflect quite a bit, nice one. Now, have you decided how you're going to propose? Any ideas?"

"Not a one…"

* * *

That's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed. And I hope you'll let me know what you think.

I predict 3 more chapters to go for this one.

Thanks to anyone who might be reading…


	22. A New Normal

**A/N:** Hey all! Exciting news. I don't have a clue how, but this story was nominated for Best Rossi/Emily fic in this year's Profiler's Choice Awards. I want to give a big thank you to those who took the time to nominate it. I really, really appreciate it.

Ok, now on with the show…

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 22: A New Normal:**

* * *

"Dave!" He heard his name exclaimed behind him. He finished stirring his cream and sugar into his coffee, throwing the stir-stick away, taking his time before facing the surprised person.

Rossi turned around just into time to see Emily do a swivel step towards the break-room exit and back to finally face him. She was so contemplating running away. He was pretty pleased, though, when she decided to stick it out and… well, not quite face him, but at least tolerate his presence.

It had been weeks since he'd seen her last; she'd been on vacation. With Derek. And before that they'd steadfastly done the avoidance thing. Things were so obviously awkward between them. But a month without really talking was enough for him. Rossi was ready to get his friend back.

He gave her a polite smile so as not to scare her away. "Emily," he replied simply.

She continued to stare at him as if she hadn't believed she'd run into him, at work of all places. While he waited for her to figure out what she'd like to say to him, he, in turn, read the emotions running rampant on her face: trepidation, confusion, wonder. But, the one that surprised him most was definitely the hint of affection.

Emily still cared about him. To what extent, he wasn't sure. Nonetheless, he sure hoped it was enough to give their friendship a jumpstart.

Rossi raised an eyebrow at her when her frozen stare bordered on the minute-long range. He could see her blush, despite looking away, as she finally got moving and bee-lined it for the coffee machine.

"Just…" she said hastily, "needed some coffee."

She kept her back to him, stiff and tense; she seemed ready to resume their avoidance tactics. Well, that just wouldn't cut it with him.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on?" he questioned.

_I sure hope not,_ he thought, answering his own question. Before their very brief fling of a relationship they'd had a true friendship. It had been a real good thing.

Thinking she was going to just pretend to not have heard him, he took a step towards her. She turned around to face him then, confusion written all over her face.

He sighed. "Is every encounter between us going to be awkward from now on?" There, he'd said it. "Because, I've moved on."

He really had. Of course, he still cared for her. He would probably always have some kind of feelings for her. The fact was Emily was the first woman he'd allowed himself to love in over ten years.

She had opened his heart when he thought he could love no more. And, for that, he'd always be grateful to her. Because, he now knew he could give his love to someone else.

"How can you not hate me?" she wondered out loud, guessing correctly at his current feelings for her. "Or at least be angry with me?"

Another sigh. "Because," he began. "I care about you, I can't hate you. You're my friend."

The confusion, the trepidation melted away into a smile full of the affection that he could now describe as friendly. He'd take it. "Thanks, Dave," she said genuinely.

She turned around, her body language a lot less tense than minutes before. They were so close to going back to normal. They just needed one more push.

Rossi sidled up next to her. "Friend to friend, I've got a bit of gossip that I thought would brighten up your day."

"Really?"

He couldn't help grinning. Sure, Hotch might kill him for what he was about to reveal, but at least he could argue it away as being for a good cause: The saving of a friendship.

"Guess who I went ring shopping with this weekend?"

Emily's eyes lit up and mouth dropped open. "No way! Did he ask her yet?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. I think the guy's trying to think up a way to ask her that will knock her socks off."

"He just has to ask." She shook her head chidingly. "She'd say yes to him in an instant."

That's what he believed, too. They were so on the same page again. It felt good.

"I know. They were made for each other," he affirmed.

She picked up her mug and leaned back against the counter, completely relaxed now. Taking a sip of the coffee, she added excitedly, "This is great! I can't wait to see the ring. I hope he does it soon."

He nodded. "Yeah, me too… But, you didn't hear it from me."

"My lips are sealed," she assured.

Rossi gave her one more smile, marvelling at how easy things felt between them once again. So quickly. He chalked it up to them being such good friends before all the drama began. A weight lifted from his shoulders.

Without another word, he turned and left.

Exiting the break-room, he practically bumped right into Morgan. It had been a long time since they'd really spoken as well. But, he just wasn't about to stop and have a heart-to-heart with the younger man. His pride, after all, had still been hurt.

Still, he'd be civil, even polite. He tipped his mug up to him in greeting and said, "Morning, Derek."

His fellow profiler, of course, eyed him warily, but answered in kind, "Morning, Rossi. We've got a case."

"Thanks for letting me know."

They both continued along their ways. He'd conceded to Derek Morgan because Emily loved him. Nevertheless, he'd always be watching, making sure he treated her as she deserved. Or else.

And while he was at it, protecting his best friend, he'd try to mend things with a certain other brunette of Middle Eastern descent.

He was absolutely certain there was something between them. He just hoped Malika thought so too.

* * *

Rossi let out a sigh, hanging up his phone. Malika wasn't picking up. And who could blame her. She'd given him her phone-number a long time ago and the first time he tries using it is _after_ he'd slept with her. _More than a month after_, to be exact. He was such an idiot.

Still, he believed in Hotch's words, that everyone deserved a second chance. He just needed to get through to her first to see if she believed the same thing.

What he needed was an in, and, looking across the plane, he realized he had not only one but two. And one of them just happened to be a member of his team.

_Maybe I could talk Reid into setting something up… _

And if Reid wouldn't help than maybe Layla would. The younger sister had always been kind to him. Surely, she'd help him.

He retook his seat next to the kid, catching the tail end of a conversation.

"Besides," Emily was saying. "Garcia and Reid both got their significant others outside the BAU."

Reid piped up. "Did I just hear my name?"

Emily looked to the young genius. "Yeah, I haven't seen Layla, where has she been?"

That was a good question, one he'd like to know the answer to as well. Layla hadn't visited the BAU in at least two weeks. He listened carefully.

"Oh," he replied, blushing as he always did when his girlfriend came up. "She's been on a case with her team in LA for a while now."

"LA?" JJ surprised them by speaking up, considering she was sitting in an isolated corner of the plane with her soon to be fiancé. She stood up to join them.

"Yeah?" Reid said, sounding wary.

JJ grinned broadly. "Aren't you afraid she'll run into you old girlfriend?"

Reid actually groaned. "Lila wasn't my girlfriend."

_Layla? Lila?_ _Hmm…_ Rossi was actually intrigued. They'd mentioned this LA girlfriend before. Apparently it was before his _and_ Emily's time. He raised an eyebrow in her direction, sharing a look. "Is anyone ever going to tell us that story?" he lamented.

Reid gave another groan as JJ exclaimed, "I will," and then jumped right into it.

He and Emily listened raptly. Entertaining as the story was, he still noticed when Morgan absently entwined his fingers with Emily's. They really were a couple now. He knew it, but the visual reminders were still… hard to witness. He forced himself to look away and focus on the story and then on Reid.

When JJ finally finished, and Reid had been thoroughly embarrassed, he turned to the kid and said, "Speaking of Layla…"

"Actually, we were talking about Lila," he corrected.

Rossi gave him a dry look. "Do you really want to keep talking about Lila?" The kid shook his head furiously. "Good. _Speaking of Layla…_ how's Malika doing?"

"Actually, we weren't—" His look cut him off and said, 'just go with it.' "She's well," Reid offered instead.

He stopped there, leaving it at that.

"Reid, come on. You've got to give me more than that. I haven't talked to her in a month. Is she happy? Is she angry? Did her parent's get her hitched yet?"

Reid cringed. "Malika's always a bit angry… Wait, you talked to her a month ago?" Reid questioned. "I didn't know that."

He chanced a hesitant glance at Emily. She had headphones on now. They were safe.

So, news of them sleeping together hadn't gotten to Reid. Maybe Malika hadn't told anyone. Was that a good thing or bad?

"Yeah, I did. She's not returning any of my calls, though," he stated sheepishly.

"What did you do?" Reid wanted to know.

"I… I did… _something_," he confirmed, drawing it out, but leaving it at that.

"Wait a second… a month ago…" He could see the wheels turning in the kid's head. And when he glanced at Emily again, he knew he was done for. "Rossi! How could you?"

"I made a mistake," he said regretfully. "I was confused and stupid. And she knows what I've done."

Reid looked angry. He'd never seen him mad before. So maybe he couldn't count on Reid being on his side. "I told you before to be careful with her, Rossi. She's been hurt before."

"I know. She told me. Which is why I feel a hundred times worse," he offered contritely. "Look, all I want is one chance to make it up to her. To make it right. Just one, ok." He did not intend on screwing up this big again with the lovely doctor.

He could see Reid going back and forth, probably making a pros and cons list in his head.

"I like her Reid. Can you help me?" he finished.

It was a moment more before the youngest team member finally said, "I'll see what I can do."

Rossi's face broke out into a big smile. He clapped Reid on the shoulder, saying, "Thanks, kid." He had a lot to be thankful for where Reid was concerned, because if it weren't for him, he would have never known Malika in the first place.

He stood up, going for the tiny kitchenette, needing some water. He'd keep trying to phone her, but anything Reid could do to speed things along would be a plus.

"Who's Malika?"

The bottle he'd just reached for slipped out of his hand. He watched it fall to the floor of the plane before looking up to see Emily watching him carefully, a curious look on her face.

He bent to pick up the bottle, straightening to meet her gaze. "She's…. Layla's older sister."

"Oh. You've met her?" she inquired.

"Yeah. Layla invited me to dinner at her family's house months ago. I met Malika then," he explained.

She gave him a scrutinizing look. For what she was searching for, he did not know. It was true he'd technically cheated on Emily with the doctor. Maybe Emily could sense that. But if she was about to call him out on it or get angry with him, he didn't know what the point would be. At that point in their relationship, he'd known they were both done. They just hadn't made it official. Which was the whole reason Malika was avoiding him.

"I see," she said finally. Her lips tight. She knew. At least, she felt there was something else going on. "Do you like her?"

"Very much," he said honestly.

"Good. I'd like to meet her sometime," Emily said, her face all friendly again.

He let out a relaxed breath. "If I get my way, you all will."

Rossi just needed to find a way to get her to forgive him and go out with him on a first date. A daunting feat, now that he thought about it.

* * *

Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed. And I hope you'll let me know what you think. Thanks!

If you'd like to vote for Protector for Best Rossi/Emily or even check out all the other nominees in the **2013** **Profiler Choice Criminal Minds Awards** there's a link up in my profile that will get you to the final ballot. Voting ends December 14th.

Thanks again to all who nominated this fic and to all those who are still reading. And thanks to my two reviewers, **Whazup56 **and **Harold Finch and Grace luvr** for taking the time to review.

I'll try to update soon!


	23. Second Chance

**A/N:** Hey all! First, so sorry for the wait, writer's block combined with close to zero time to myself has made my writing suffer. Secondly, this is long overdue but… Thank you to everyone who voted for this story in the 2013 Profiler's Choice Awards. It won! For best Emily/Rossi fic. Thank you! And thirdly, hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 23: Second Chance:**

* * *

Rossi, along with everyone else, watched on as a one-year old Henry swung his arms through a large pile of wrapping paper. Henry laughed each time his actions caused the loud crinkling noise, as well as their chuckles. Rossi smiled, witnessing an entertainer in the making.

"JJ," Rossi began, addressing the cringing mother—didn't she know she had at least eighteen more years of nonsensical noise making?—"If we'd known Henry would throw our presents aside we would have just splurged on the paper."

JJ winced as the child went for round two. Speaking over the racket, she said, "He just likes to make noise, once he figures out how he can do that with the toys, he won't drop them. Trust me. I've got the headaches to prove it."

He didn't envy her on that. And yet as he continued to watch the child, watched how JJ and Hotch looked on Henry adoringly, devotedly, he wished for a little piece of that. That happiness that came from the familial bond.

'_Don't you want kids?'_ Hotch's question to him earlier this month, popped back into mind. At the time, he'd a little more to think about then just kids. He'd had his failed relationship with Emily to consider; also, the prospect of being alone forever. Rossi hadn't been in the mood of pondering possible mythical children, so he'd brushed him off, not really giving it much serious thought. Now, as he actually considered the possibility realistically, he realized the answer was a resounding yes.

"He's precious, isn't he?"

Startled out of his thoughts, he looked to his right to see he'd been joined by Layla. She had a knowing sort of look in her dark eyes, as if she'd read his thoughts. He nodded his head, at the same time he found himself marveling silently at the difference between younger and older sister, as he did ever since meeting Malika. Layla was gentle to Malika's endearing coarseness. But one thing they both shared was intelligence.

Layla knew what he was thinking. She had to know. It was pretty much the one thing on his mind these days.

He'd found in Layla a potential sympathetic ear to his ongoing plight of being ignored by her sister. And yet, he kept it to himself, not wanting to burden her with the situation that was of his own making.

He mentally sighed. _Malika._

Reid had yet to mention the woman, not since Rossi had asked him to speak with her on his behalf. It led him to believe that the young doctor had tried with unsatisfactory results. Malika didn't want him, it was becoming increasingly obvious and he wasn't about to continue making a fool of himself, pursuing a woman who clearly hated him.

He'd given up all hope of reconciliation with the dark beauty. Still, he lamented—oh, how he'd messed it all up.

Layla gave him a quizzical look and he realized he'd been silent too long. So, he spoke up, taking advantage of the moment to steer the conversation away from him. "Do you want children?"

She blushed prettily at his question; he'd caught her off guard. "Someday…" she answered, though he didn't miss the way her eyes wandered over to the genius as she spoke the word.

"Reid is excellent with kids," he added bluntly.

The rose color on her cheeks deepened, but she looked pleased by the comment. "I'm not so good with kids, but I'd like my own," she explained. "My sister, on the other hand, is a natural with children."

He shot her a surprised look as she gave him a cheeky one in return. Not so different from her sister, he was learning…

She got up then, patting his shoulder in consolation, joining Reid on the other side of the room.

How Layla was still in his corner after all he'd done, he had no clue. All he knew was Layla was a gem.

Soon, the sound of Henry's cries signaled the end of his birthday party. Henry was then carted off by Hotch, a charming sight, while JJ saw everyone off.

One of the last to head out, Rossi walked the short distance to his car parked on the street. He was just about to get in, when he saw Reid coming his way.

"Rossi," the younger man called.

He paused with the car door open. "Yeah."

The younger man closed the distance before speaking up. "I talked to Malika."

That was it. No pretense, no warm-up conversation. Nothing. Just, 'I talked to Malika.'

"Oh," he gasped out. This was very unexpected.

He waited patiently, though eager to hear what he had to say.

Reid pursed his lips together, looking reluctant suddenly. "She… she's angry."

"So the usual," he quipped.

His fellow profiler looked at him disapprovingly. "She'll see you, though. Dinner this weekend… with her parents, Layla and me."

Rossi's eyes widened. This was way more than he'd expected. Only an hour ago, he'd resigned himself to never seeing Malika again. Now, now he had some hope.

"This isn't like last time, is it?" he asked suspiciously. He had to make sure. He didn't want to blindside her once again.

"Trust me, I value my life," Reid assured, wincing in remembrance of last time's debacle.

That was good enough for him. "I'll be there."

* * *

Dave climbed the stairs up to the impressive looking Sayid residence, still feeling a sense of déjà vu even though the circumstances of this visit were very different than the last time he was here. For one, he was now acquainted with the people who lived inside. For another, he thought he knew what to expect from tonight: dinner and intelligent conversation with the girls, Reid, and the elder Sayid's; a heavy talk with Malika about how much of an idiot he had been; and maybe a plan for more get-together's with the entire family later on.

The feeling of sameness wouldn't budge, nonetheless. It must be the nerves, he mused. He'd been on edge then and he felt it now. For entirely different reasons, but still, edge was edge, he guessed.

Once again, he'd thought to bring gifts: a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers. The flowers, however, were different, and were chosen with one person in mind: Malika. He'd gone to three different florists, trying to find the deepest red roses he could find. Some thought they were overdone, or thought giving them conveyed one specific message, but he saw them for what they were: a beautiful flower, for a beautiful woman. He knew better than to try to express himself through a silly bouquet of flowers when it came to Malika. She was a no-nonsense, straightforward kind of woman who appreciated the same qualities in the people around her.

So, ringing the bell, he braced himself for an evening of blunt honesty.

"I'll get it!" he heard a familiar voice exclaim from somewhere inside the home. Mere moments later, the door swung open, and if he'd been expecting a different greeting than he'd received the last time he'd stood there, he had been sorely mistaken. One thing was the same, the welcome he received was very unexpected.

"No, no way!" Malika, looking as elegant as she did the last time he'd seen her, exclaimed. "What are you—What the hell?"

She tried shutting the door on him—so much for being straightforward—but he blocked her. It was fairly safe to say she wasn't expecting him.

Someday he'd have to repay Reid and Layla back for this, he vowed.

"Dave!" she protested, pushing against the door still.

He pushed back and she finally gave up. He barely caught the door before it slammed back against the wall. He stepped inside, seeing her just flee up the stairs.

Sighing, he thought to himself, _Well, this is going extremely well…_

"Sir?" he heard to his right.

It was the maid. "Hello, Jenny."

She took his coat, the flowers and wine from him. At least someone didn't bat an eye at his presence. "Mr. and Mrs. Sayid are in the living room with Miss. Sayid and Dr. Reid," she informed. He stared up after the stairs, hesitating. Before anything, all he wanted to do was make sure that the woman who seemingly hated him was all right. "Dr. Sayid's rooms are on the third floor."

He turned to stare sharply at the maid, wondering if he'd heard right, but she'd disappeared.

Rossi faced the stairs once again. Should he or shouldn't he? he wondered to himself. _Third floor, huh?_ He put a foot on the step, well, if her reaction was so intense just showing up at the front door, imagine her surprise when she found him at her bedroom door.

He was fully prepared to be thrown out on the street by Mr. Sayid or Malika—more likely Malika—any minute now. But he just couldn't leave without trying.

* * *

_What is he doing here?_

Malika wrung her hands together over and over, pacing her bedroom. She plopped down onto the bed, unconsciously worrying at the skin around her thumbnail with her index finger, her trademark nervous tick.

_He's not supposed to be here._ Jumping back off the bed, she thought to herself, _I'm going to kill Layla and Spencer._

After their last encounter in the hotel room, Malika had vowed not to see him again.

The thing was she didn't even know him and yet, when she found out about his girlfriend, she'd been so disappointed in him.

He'd popped into her life so unexpectedly. And when she'd first met him she knew he was different than all the other men she'd met or been set up with. Those men were either overly simple, into her looks or worse her success—dating a doctor wasn't just a plus for a woman, it seemed—or they were the complete opposite, intimidated by her success.

Dave was different. Complicated—that was an understatement, she was coming to find out—and intriguing. He was a man who pleased her parents, but not at her expense. A man who appreciated her for her.

Or so she thought.

One meeting had told her so much. But not enough, she guessed.

It hadn't informed her that he'd leave her hanging for so long. It hadn't told her that the next time they ran into each other he'd take her to a hotel to sleep with her—not unwillingly on her part, but still—only to reveal he was involved with another woman. That first meeting had definitely left out the bit where she'd get hurt.

He was so different from William—the only man she'd ever loved—yes, and yet in that one respect, he was the exact same. Using her for his own pleasure, playing with her feelings without a care. The exact same.

A knock came at the door, causing her to jump in the air. "Malika?" a voice followed the knock.

She froze in place. He'd followed her up the stairs? _Of all the nerve! _She had half a mind to rip him a new one!

She marched towards the door and then hesitated. She'd forgotten for a moment that she wanted nothing to do with that man.

"Malika, please," Dave entreated.

She put a hand to the door. He sounded so apologetic, so sincere. It reminded her of that night.

He could have lied to her about what was affecting him, especially after she'd told him about William. She could have never known that he had a girlfriend. Still, he'd told her the truth. He'd been honest, despite what it would cost them both.

_Give him a chance,_ a voice whispered in the back of her head. She mentally shook her head, stubborn to a fault.

"Please, I'd like to say I'm sorry. I'd like to explain…"

How? How could she ever trust him? She'd trusted someone before only to get hurt. Malika didn't ever want to feel that way again.

_He never made you any promises,_ the voice was back. _William promised you everything. He lied. Dave hasn't made you any promises… therefore he hasn't broken any._

_Doesn't mean he didn't still hurt me,_ she thought back wryly.

"Malika!" a voice called from down the stairs. Footsteps accompanied the voice.

_Oh no!_ Her father. All she needed was for her father to find Dave at her bedroom door. He'd probably force him to marry her out of some weird sense of honor. And Dave would do it just to vex her. She did _not_ need that.

Quickly, she opened the door, taking in Dave's surprised expression briefly before reaching out, grabbing at his nice suit jacket, and forcefully pulling him inside. She shut the door firmly behind them and began searching her room for the most feasible hiding place.

"Thank you for letting—" he began, but she shushed him abruptly. And he quieted; because he was being obedient or because he was stunned at _being_ shushed, she didn't know. Either way he, thankfully, remained silent.

_The closet!_

She pushed him towards it, opening the door. "In here!" Malika shoved him inside, closing the door behind him. The footsteps were getting closer.

"Malika?" came Dave's muffled voice.

She reopened the door, pushing aside her many scarves to look him in the eye. "Just stay quiet, please. I'll… I'll listen to what you have to say, ok."

Not waiting for his response, she closed the door and went to sit at her make-up table.

Yet another knock came at her door and this time she knew it was her father. "Malika?"

"Come in," she called, re-powdering her cheeks.

The door swung open and her father's reflection appeared in the mirror as he stood in the doorway.

He frowned. "You're not ready yet?"

"Almost."

Her dad came to sit on the edge of her bed. He spared a glance at her messy make-up tabletop. "Why you and your sister insist on painting yourselves with all that goop… you're both too beautiful, you don't need it."

She rolled her eyes at her dad, but gave him an affectionate smile nonetheless.

"Dad, did you come all the way up here to insult my make-up?" she questioned.

"No." He looked aside, avoiding her gaze.

_Uh oh._ When her father, whom she'd inherited her directness from, became elusive she knew something was up.

"I was… checking to see if you're ready yet…" he explained, but she knew there was more to it, so she waited. "Look, sweetheart, your mother and sister didn't want me to tell you this, but… Spencer and Layla invited a… man to dinner tonight."

"A man?" She feigned innocence.

Her dad met her eye then, grimacing. "Yes. I don't know if you remember… David Rossi? The agent Spencer works with."

"I remember," she said, letting some bitterness creep into her voice. Her dad gave her a quizzical look. "I mean, he seemed… nice."

He brightened. "Nice? Did you like him then? I'll admit your mother and I enjoyed his company quite a bit. We were hoping—"

She put up a hand, halting her dad from continuing, ever aware that Dave was listening in. "Dad, all I said was he's nice. Don't you and mom go picking out flowers or anything…"

Her father sighed. "All right… I just wanted you to know so you wouldn't be blindsided or anything."

_Too late for that,_ she thought dryly, nevertheless appreciating what he'd tried to do.

He stood up and she followed suit. He approached her, settling his hands on her shoulders. "Malika, you truly are a wonderful woman. Any man would be lucky to have you, but I would not part with you to anyone undeserving."

She didn't know what made her say it. "And Agent Rossi's deserving?"

He looked at her considering. "He's intelligent, steady, amusing. And he seemed to be bestowed with you. That is the main thing. He seemed to truly like you."

She nodded. Not saying a word. Dave was different. He hadn't complimented her uselessly and yet he hadn't made her feel undesirable. He was the perfect blend of attentive and respectful of her independence.

"Thanks… for checking on me," she said instead. "I'll be down in a few minutes, ok?"

Her father gave her forehead a kiss and then was off.

She shut the door behind his retreating figure, waited until she couldn't hear the sound of his footsteps on the wooden steps, then let out the breath it seemed she'd been holding ever since she'd opened that front door.

One moment more and then, "You can come out now."

Dave opened the door, fumbling through her wardrobe before gaining freedom. All the while, she waited for him, arms crossed over chest.

She wasn't about to just accept him, all open arms and such. She wasn't about to make it easy on him. Nope. She deserved an explanation an apology, even. Wanted one. She would hear him out. Where things went from there, she had no clue.

He had such an out-of-character sheepish look to his face that she instantly wanted to be done with this so they could all go back to normal. "Explain," she demanded.

* * *

Rossi gazed upon her, slightly at a loss for the first time in his life. Of course he'd come over with a plan of what to say. He'd been planning it ever since he realized he'd like a second chance. And now, faced with the chance to attempt to make things right, he blanked out—also for the first time in his life.

The problem was this wasn't how the night was supposed to go. He was supposed to arrive, be greeted politely, if not warmly. He was supposed to engage his hosts in witty conversation. And then later, much later, he would have a moment alone with the dark haired beauty to grovel out his apology.

"So eloquent, Dave," she said pointedly, looking less and less impressed by the second.

Rossi let out a sigh. No, he guessed he wasn't helping his case by standing there gawping like a fool.

"First," he found the courage to begin. He took a few steps towards her, but stopped when he noticed her backing away. Rossi withheld the sigh that wanted release; of course she would be cautious of him. "I didn't know you weren't expecting me."

She waved her hand in the air, as if it was nothing, as if she hadn't run away from him upon sighting. "Don't apologize for that. That's on Layla and Spencer… and maybe my mother… they'll be sorry later."

Cringing at the 'they'll be sorry,' not 'they'll _say_ sorry,' he bumbled on. "Ok—Look, Malika, I am so sorry for the way I've treated you. It was disrespectful to you and your family. Believe me, hurting you was the last thing I ever wanted to do."

She frowned at him. "Who said anything about being hurt? I'm just pissed off that you thought you could play me."

Her words threw him for a moment. She wasn't hurt? But, no. Her body language said otherwise. Her arms tightened around her when she said the word and she shifted slightly to the left, as if she couldn't face him anymore. No, he'd hurt her, of that he was certain. What was worse, however, was that she felt compelled to hide it. Malika, it seemed, wasn't one to show any vulnerability. So, she suffered in silence.

"Ok, maybe hurt isn't the right word," he allowed, for her. "All I'm saying is I'm deeply sorry for any… _distress_ I may have caused you."

"All right, you're sorry. I get it," she said bluntly. "That doesn't explain why you acted the way you did _or_ tell me why I should let you within ten feet of me ever again."

She stood there waiting; arms loosed at hers sides, finally open to hearing what he had to say.

So, she wanted the whole truth. She wanted every detail. Fine, she'd get it. He only hoped that when he was finished it wouldn't make her hate him more than she already did.

"Her name was Emily Prentiss," he started resignedly. "And I loved her, almost from the first moment I met her. But she didn't love me. That didn't stop me, though, from pursing her. Even when she had a boyfriend."

Malika's eyes widened at this revelation. "I see…" And then, "Do you make it a habit of forcing yourself on people who don't want you?"

Her scathing reply hit home. It hurt. And for a moment he recoiled, taken aback by how hateful she sounded. Nevertheless, he caught a flicker of something in her eye, something like regret and knew that this was how she tried to protect herself. To hurt in return. So, he forgave her and continued his story.

"It wasn't like that. We were great friends. I made it my mission to be there for her whenever she needed, to protect her if she needed. And there were times that she did. I fell in love with my friend, my friend who didn't love me back. But there came a time when she didn't need me and it made me sad. And for some reason, I got it into my head that we would be perfect for each other."

"And," Malika prompted.

"Isn't it obvious?" She shook her head. "I was wrong. A habit I seem to be acquiring."

"So, what? You don't love her anymore? You're done with Emily Prentiss?"

"A part of me will always love her," he said truthfully.

"What do you want from me, Dave?" she asked, wholly exasperated now. "How do I know you're not here now because you can't have her? How do I know that I'm not going to be just some replacement for Ms. Prentiss?"

"I could have had her," he said lowly.

She huffed out an angry breath. "Well, good for you. Why don't you go to her, then?"

She wasn't getting it. He shook his head. And she went silent, waiting.

"I could have had her. But I realized something. She wasn't happy. And neither was I. That was the night I saw you—"

She made to speak again, but he held up a hand for her to wait. She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest once again, but she looked open to what he had to say.

This time when he closed the distance between them she didn't back away. Didn't even flinch when he rested his hands on her bare shoulders.

"That night was full of confusion and sorrow and anger; I had no idea what I was going to do. But, the short time _we_ spent together… _That_ was happiness."

It was the most truthful thing he'd ever said. And it was everything he had to say.

"Dave, I…" she began, looking at a loss for words. She dropped her arms to her sides and he trailed his hands down the length of them, taking each hand in his.

"All I'm asking for is a second chance, Malika?" he added. "I'd like for us to get to know each other. I think we could have something, together. And… I'd like to try. Do you?"

She lifted her gaze to meet his. "Ye—Yes," she stuttered out.

He smiled. "All right…" He brought her hands up, kissing the knuckles of each hand. "Malika, would you go out on a date with me?"

Finally, she smiled for the first time that night. "I would love to."

Extremely pleased, he wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close. Tilting his head to the side, he leaned in for a kiss. Only to be shoved away before their lips met.

She laughed heartily. "Later," she said. "Right now, we need to sneak you downstairs and back outside. No way am I letting my dad find you in here."

"It's ok, you're dad likes me," he returned, having heard the father-daughter conversation before.

She grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door, which she opened a crack to listen. "Not that much," she quipped.

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter. A few loose ends to tie up still, that should take a chapter. And then, an epilogue to see how all the different couples are doing. That's it. Then I'm done. :)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's one of my favorites for this story so I hope you liked it too. Also, I hope you'll let me know what you think. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter: **anjna; Guest #1; Harold Finch and Grace luvr; and Guest #2.**

Be back soon with the final two chapters.


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